Over the weekend, Sony Animation dropped our first look at next year’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and it could be the best Spider-Man movie so far.
Next year, Sony will try its hand again at another Spider-Man movie, but it won’t be related to the movie released last July that introduced us to Marvel/Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Instead, Sony Animation will explore a different canvas to bring Miles Morales’ Spider-Man to life in Into the Spider-Verse.
When it comes to superheroes, there have been many instances where animation made better use of a few icons where live-action failed. For example, Justice League: Unlimited is way better than 2017’s Justice League. Sometimes, it’s tough to translate a really awesome scene from the imagination to live-action. Luckily, animation can fill in those gaps.
So I’m looking forward to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse more than Spider-Man: Homecoming, and here are the three reasons why:
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – Official Teaser Trailer. Image Courtesy of Sony.
The animation
As Miles Morales swings after a criminal, the trailer includes a brief shot of a play on animation that sees the scene pay homage to its ink and paper counterpart. Here we see a colorful cityscape instead of a CGI New York City and it looks beautiful.
Animation can move beyond physical limitations, and considering how smart computers are, the sky’s the limit. Really, your imagination is the limit. Into the Spider-Verse won’t be hindered by shooting locations, actors, or what’s really possible. You won’t hear anybody say, “You want Michael Keaton to do what?”
Truthfully, this reminds me a lot of Big Hero 6 and I’m all for it.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – Official Teaser Trailer. Image Courtesy of Sony.
The action sequences
Just to be clear: this dude’s rippin’ it so hard, he tore the glass right off the building. Just look at it. There isn’t a lot of finesse happening. He’s just jumping off the building. Later, we see him run through the streets without regard for any cars or who’s coming his way. Though he’s a little reckless, Miles Morales uses a slightly different power set than Peter Parker, and since this is animation, all bets are off.
The Spider-Man: Homecoming gimmicks relied on a suit designed by Tony Stark. He got defeated on several different occasions, and honestly, it just wasn’t very action-packed. It was like Spider-Man: Watered Down. Hopefully, Into the Spider-Verse won’t suffer from this.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – Official Teaser Trailer. Image Courtesy of Sony.
Miles Morales
When we learned that Sony and Marvel planned to reboot Spider-Man for the third time, many of us had only one name in mind: Miles Morales. His role in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics was well-received because he was a diverse character and his narrative was more organic than Peter Parker’s arc. At first, Morales didn’t even want to be a superhero, but as he learned to embrace his powers, he became an even better Spidey than the original. I mean, even his threads are cooler than Peter’s. He swings in black and red and wears a pair of definitely-not-based-on Nike Air Jordans.
And if Miles Morales isn’t enough, how about Spider-Gwen or Silk?
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Also, here’s the full trailer in case you missed it.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opens in theaters on Dec. 14, 2018.