Warning: this article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hasn’t been out long, but it’s already considered one of the best films of 2023. The expectations were sky high after the release of the original film, but directors Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson were able to deliver the goods with a sequel that’s even more ambitious and heartfelt than the original.
Part of the aforementioned ambition comes from the different Spider people that get brought into the story. Across the Spider-Verse introduces nearly every kind of Spidey variation imaginable, but there was one that was notably absent. Some fans have begun to theorize that the character’s absence was by design, and that their introduction is being saved for the third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
The character in question is Spidey from Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The series ran from 1994 to 1998 on Fox Kids Network, and is widely considered to be one of the best ever depictions of the character. The theory comes from Reddit user JoeKerr19, who suggests that Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) will recruit this version of Spidey to help fight the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) after the events of Across the Spider-Verse.
This makes sense on multiple levels. The last two episodes of The Animated Series dealt with Spidey (who we will refer to as TAS Spider-Man) crossing over into different universes and dimensions, which was the first time such a concept had ever been used in relation to the character. These episodes inspired the Spider-Verse, which debuted in the comics and was the springboard for the current Spider-Verse franchise.
The Spot kidnapped MJ in The Animated Series, so there’s already a tense personal history between the villain and TAS Spider-Man. The Reddit user posits that MJ’s kidnapping ruined the timeline of the show, and that TAS Spider-Man is now stuck between worlds, like so many of the variants we’ve seen in the first two Spider-Verse films. TAS Spider-Man could then be called upon to help Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and restore the timeline of his own world.
It may seem complicated, but it’s tough to adhere to simplicity when writing about stories that have different versions of the same character fighting different versions of the same villain. It’s a compelling theory either way, and one that explains the decision to withhold one of the most beloved iterations of Spider-Man to date.
The Spider-Verse films have had a star-studded voice cast, but the return of TAS Spider-Man will undoubtedly lead to questions about the character’s original voice actor, Christopher Daniel Barnes. In fact, the actor had to deny rumors about his involvement ahead of the release of Across the Spider-Verse. “I wish it was true,” the actor said in an Instagram post. “That would just be super cool. Unfortunately, it’s not true at all. There’s no truth to the rumor whatsoever.”
While TAS Spider-Man hasn’t popped up in the Spider-Verse franchise, we remain hopeful that this Reddit theory turns out to be true, and the character gets the triumphant return he deserves.