By letting Peter Parker pass the torch, the new Spider-Man movie shows how the character can thrive for years to come.
This Thursday, Sony Animation’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” hits theaters in the U.S.
But the film has already been making some major waves, with amazing pre-release reviews, an impressive collection of animation styles, and, as The Hollywood Reporter argues in the link above, the chance to establish animation as the ultimate superhero platform for diverse stories that “we would never see come to fruition in live action.”
“The Spider-Verse is about to forever change our perception of what Spider-Man can be on film with an ambitious multifilm franchise that looks to be the next great leap for comic book movies,” journalist Richard Newby writes.
The support Spider-Verse has is special. Sony already greenlit a Miles Morales-lead sequel and a “Spider-Women” spinoff feature film. Outside companies are also committed to Sony’s Spider-vision — Deadline reported earlier this month that Spider-Verse should already have earned more than its budget ($90 million), thanks to global brand promotional partners alone.
And by establishing each area of the Spider-Man multiverse with distinct animation styles, the potential for continued innovation in animation and storytelling has a strong foundation. As Newby argues — or perhaps, praises —Sony should take this film as an opportunity to keep giving light to new voices, outside the traditional view of the web-slinging hero Peter Parker, and outside the traditional view of who can make a great superhero movie.
This animated film is set up to make history and, just maybe, to blaze trails for animation to be seen in new ways by the general film audience. As Newby says, “This is an opportunity to see experimentation within the superhero format, to test boundaries, push limits and see what sticks to the wall like only a Spider-Man can.”
- Courtney (harmonicacave)