October 9th, 2018 
Jackson Murphy 
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is getting a complete makeover. At New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 6th, Sony Pictures Animation debuted the first 35 minutes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (it swings into theaters December 14th). A panel Q&A with cast and crew members followed. I attended the presentation, held in a packed Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Some on hand were dressed as Spidey. It’s safe to say ALL who attended Marveled at the preview footage. Here’s a recap:
Moderator Josh Horowitz first welcomed “Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (directors/producers of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “The LEGO Movie”) on stage. Lord informed the audience that, while the film opens in just two months, it’s still very much “a work in progress”. However, in trying to put together something for the NYCC crowd, he and Miller realized that they couldn’t just show a couple of random scenes because there are so many story connections that go from one scene into the next.
When they announced that the fans were about to see the first 35 minutes, the crowd erupted. And before the preview began, Phil and Chris had everyone in attendance stand up, raise both hands and declare that no one would post spoilers online.
A handful of shots still needs to be fully animated, but I’d say about 90% of this opening section of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse looked silver screen ready. And it’s definitely impressive.
The basic story surrounds Miles Morales (voiced by “Dope”‘s Shameik Moore), a music-loving, 13-year-old African American boy who lives with his parents in Brooklyn. Miles’ dad (Brian Tyree Henry) is a police officer who isn’t the biggest fan of Spider-Man. Miles’ mom Rio (Luna Lauren Velez), who often speaks to him in Spanish, says at one point says that “Our family doesn’t run from things.” And we also meet Miles’ uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali). It’s their trip to the subway system that really sets things in motion.
Over the course of this opening act, audiences will be treated to high-tech animation, high-flying action sequences and several cameo appearances. There is also a lot of humor in the script, mainly involving Miles’ awkward high school and super power antics.
The footage – jam-packed with complex content – ended to thunderous applause. Horowitz then brought Lord and Miller back out, with Moore, Henry, Velez, Jake Johnson (who voices Peter Parker) and directors Peter Ramsey (“Rise of the Guardians“) and Bob Persichetti now joining them.
As Miller explained, “Sony came to us and said ‘Wouldn’t be it cool if we made an animated Spider-Man movie?’ And I said, ‘It’d be awesome, but it’d be, like, the 7th Spider-Man movie. It has to be super fresh… and Miles’ story.'” Lord added, “We set out to make the most different Spider-Man movie we could.”
For Persichetti, “This was a chance for us to lean into a medium that was made for Spider-Man.” The animation does feel like it leaps right out of a comic-book. Ramsey remarked that “The studio and Phil and Chris had the vision, and we pushed it as far as we could go. The fact that we’ve made this movie in 3 years – for something of this magnitude and complexity – it’s crazy.”
Moore was so overwhelmed by the Comic Con crowd that he actually gave away a big spoiler during the Q&A, which was live-streamed on social media. Nonetheless, for him, “Spider-Verse” is a moment. While making the 2015 movie “Dope”, Moore wrote in a journal, “I Am Spider-Man. I Am Miles Morales.”, hoping that one day, he would get to play him. A few years later, he got this opportunity of a lifetime. Miller said that Moore actually auditioned for him for a different movie, but that he was the first person they thought of for Miles.
Johnson, best known for TV’s “New Girl”, revealed that his Peter Parker is 40 years old, chubby and depressed. “It is so exciting,” he said, “I’m fired up to be in it! Peter and Miles become unlikely friends and partners in crime, sort of like ‘The Karate Kid’. They need each other to get out of their situations.”
“Spider-Verse” is Velez’s first animated movie. “I had no idea what to expect,” she said. “I’m floored by everything. The depth of their faces… it’s so beyond what I expected.” And Henry is thrilled to see a young, Black man portrayed in a film with two, loving parents. “He’s got a damn good upbringing!”, Henry shouted. “There’s nothing more important to me than representation. It’s a big deal that Miles has both parents.”
Miller thinks this story is vital right now. “Anybody can really imagine themselves behind the mask.” And Lord has a warning for moviegoers: “If you like this, we’re gonna be stuck making, like, 38 of these.”
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