Credit: Sony PicturesIn a surprising revelation, one of the most popular characters from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) was almost removed completely.
Directed by Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Justin K. Thompson and written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Dave Callaham, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is one of the most beloved films of 2023, earning critical acclaim and widespread popularity due to its emotional story, awe-inspiring visuals, and banging soundtrack.
Another thing that makes Across the Spider-Verse is all of the different Spider-People. On top of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), audiences were greeted by Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), Spider-Man India (Karan Soni), Scarlet Spider (Andy Samberg), and, of course, Spider-Rex.
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It seems like there is genuinely a Spider-Person for everyone. That being said, one Spider-Man variant stood out more than the others: Spider-Punk. And we almost didn’t get him.
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Almost Removed Spider-Punk
Of all the new Spider-Man variants introduced in Across the Spider-Verse, it’s hard to think of one more beloved than Spider-Punk, AKA Hobie Brown. Voiced by Daniel Kaluuya, Spider-Punk featured an incredible art style and “screw the system” attitude that you couldn’t help but love. Despite this, he almost didn’t make it into the final cut.
“It’s funny as he had to earn his way into the film – he almost got cut out of the movie,” said director Justin K. Thompson in an interview with GamesRadar. There were versions of the Spider-Society he wasn’t involved in – but the scenes suffered for him not being in it. It became really elevated when he joined.” While they never explained why he was almost cut, it’s likely because animating his sequences took more time than any other.
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Fortunately, it looks like everything turned out for the best. “It was so gratifying for him to be such a hit as when information was leaking out about the movie, many people were asking online where their favorites were, like Spider-Man Noir, etc. We were like, ‘Come on, you gotta trust us; you’ll love the new characters,’ but the fans came back saying they wouldn’t. But hey – look what happened!”
It’s genuinely exciting to see the film’s directors be so enthusiastic about their characters. In fact, if they get their way, we could be looking at many more Spider-Verse projects in the future.
Directors Want Multiple Spin-Offs
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There is so much going on in Across the Spider-Verse and so many different characters to enjoy that people probably didn’t get as much time as they like with at least one member of the Spider Society. Frankly, the movie’s directors have a plan for that.
“Whilst making this movie, we wanted to ensure that all of our characters and the dimensions they come from could open up,” explained Thompson. “Honestly, it was like making six films. We invested as much into each of them so they could stand alone if needed. And we wanted to give audiences a true sense that they were visiting something as fleshed out as a separate movie.”
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Thompson continued, “We were geeking out whilst making it, thinking how rad it would be to work on an entire film set in just one of these dimensions. We’ve heard from fans that they want a Spider-Punk series or a Spider-Gwen short – I’d love to see a Pav short!”
Honestly? Same! The Spider-Verse films have opened up a door to explore dozens of different stories, from Pavitr Prahabkar to Spider-Rex. Even a short featuring Spider-Cat would be fantastic! Hopefully, Sony Pictures Animation and Marvel will be willing to explore this avenue in the future.
Who is your favorite character from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!