Ever since Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse left audiences with that jaw-dropping “to be continued” ending cliffhanger, it’s had us wondering: when will we see the exciting conclusion to Miles Morales’ animated trilogy? From what we know about Beyond the Spider-Verse, the Sony Animation movie has a release date in March of 2024, but will it actually come out in just nine months? According to one Spider-Verse animator, it’s unlikely.
Across The Spider-Verse is a triumph for animation. The sequel not only levels up the artistry and technical prowess of 2018’s Oscar-winning movie, it’s a huge box office success, recently crossing $500 million worldwide after just 20 days of release. While it’s been commonly thrown around among fans that perhaps the two sequels have been in production at the same time, much like the Avengers two-parter Infinity War and Endgame, one Spider-Verse animator shared with Vulture that Across The Spider-Verse has been the full focus on the Sony Animation team in recent years, and it “barely” crossed the finish line in time for its June release date.
The animator, who was referenced only as “Stephen,” alleged in May that there’s “no way” Beyond The Spider-Verse is staying at its place on the 2024 movie schedule. He shared that there has been progress on pre-production so far, and production itself on the film has barely gotten started. If true, and considering Across The Spider-Verse took five years to complete, a March 2024 date is sounding more and more like a pipe dream.
Making 'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' With Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Also per the report, Sony representatives “declined to comment” on the state of the production and whether they still expect to release it on time. The animator’s words about Beyond The Spider-Verse only echoes a stack of clues we’ve noticed that could turn into a delay. For example, Beyond The Spider-Verse's date was removed from the franchise’s Twitter bio, and Across The Spider-Verse composer Daniel Pemberton told us that everyone who worked on the first sequel is “so exhausted” there’s an informal pact not to talk about it among those who worked on it.
Other anonymous crew members in Across The Spider-Verse are also speaking out about unsustainable working conditions, sharing an alleged “11 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than a year” to make up for three to six months of lost time during the production of the Sony film. Apparently constant changes and cuts were made by Phil Lord in particular, and morale became “incredibly low” across the team.
Patience may be a virtue here, Spider-Man fans! The wait between 2018 and the arrival of Across The Spider-Verse was certainly worth it, but we have to wonder how long we’ll be looking forward to the conclusion of the animated Spider-Verse trilogy given this recent report on the subject.
