"Across the Spider-Verse"

A journey into and across the Spidey multiverse.

Credit: Sony Pictures Animation

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

“Let’s do things differently this time.”

As micro-manifestos go, Across the Spider-Verse’s opening line of voice-over neatly sets the vision and tone of this sequel. Everything about the first film was such a miracle that even if the filmmakers had wanted to go the studio-friendly route of simply repeating the successes of the first film, they couldn’t have done it. Even Jesus only walked on water the one time.

My encounter with the first film, Into the Spider-Verse, was something like what sci-fi nerds must have felt when they saw the first Star Wars film: here was something I had long wanted, even if I hadn’t known I wanted it. It was as if the filmmakers had not only given me what I desired but, in doing so, revealed the desire. And maybe it’s going too far, but I’ll make the connection anyway – watching Into for the first time might have been like watching the first film with sound or the first colour film: I d…