There’s been no shortage of speculation that the casting additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man 3 so far are laying the foundations for the introduction of a live-action Spider-Verse, but let’s not forget that Sony are also hard at work on the sequel to one of the greatest animated movies of the modern era.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a more than worthy debut for Miles Morales on the big screen, and deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature after receiving almost universal critical acclaim for everything from the voice performances and visual style to the unique spin on the superhero story and memorable soundtrack.
The sequel was initially announced in June of this year and scheduled to hit theaters in April 2022, but even animation isn’t immune to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and it was swiftly pushed back until October. By the time Into the Spider-Verse 2 arrives, we’ll have a much better idea of how the live-action counterpart is shaping up, but a third installment from producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is reportedly already in the works.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Sony are now planning to move forward with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 3, in addition to the Spider-Women spinoff that’s also in development from animation veteran Lauren Montgomery. Of course, almost every character that was in the first outing has been rumored for a spinoff of their own from Jon Mulaney’s Spider-Ham to Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir, and it would appear that the studio are hoping to expand their universe exponentially over the next few years as the 2D alternative to whatever plans Marvel have in store for the live-action franchise.