Spider-Verse 2: Each Spider-Man Dimension Will Have Distinct Art Style

Phil Lord and Chris Miller say each Spider-Man’s dimension in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Part One) will have a distinct art style. Before Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse premiered in 2018, Sony Pictures Animation was already developing its sequel. The studio already knew they had a hit on their hands, and they were right. Into The Spider-Verse was hugely successful and went on to win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards along with a well-earned handful of other awards. The film showed a new way of making a comic book movie.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse was officially announced in 2019, but in December 2021, Lord and Miller announced that the sequel would be split into two parts, with Across The Spider-Verse (Part One) set to premiere in October of this year and (Part Two) in 2023. The Spider-Verse sequel will continue Miles Morales’ story, which began in Into The Spider-Verse, with much of the team from the first film returning. Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jake Johnson will all reprise their roles as Miles, Gwen Stacy, and Peter B. Parker, respectively, and Oscar Isaac will also return to voice Miguel O’Hara, who appeared in Into The Spider-Verse‘s credits scene. Additionally, Issa Rae is joining the cast as Jessica Drew.

Needless to say, expectations for Spider-Verse 2 are very high and will remain that way if Lord and Miller keep teasing details from the film. Speaking to Collider, Lord and Miller shared their ambitious plans to make sure Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse feel just as new as the first: each Spider-Man’s dimension will be drawn with a distinct art style. Read Miller’s description of this plan below:

“It is, as Phil said, a very ambitious sequel, because we didn’t want to just sort of do the same thing again. And so the idea that we’d be going to different dimensions really opened up an opportunity artistically to have each world have its own art style, and to be able to push the folks at ImageWorks to develop a way to have each dimension feel like it was drawn by a different artist’s hand. Seeing the development of that stuff is breathtaking, and really, it’s the reason we keep doing it, because it’s so hard to get it right.”

The details put into Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse won acclaim from both fans and critics alike. Along with the animation styles used, many loved how Miles was animated at 12 frames per second instead of 24 when he was learning to become Spider-Man, because it helped tell his story. Drawing the different dimensions in distinct animation styles in Spider-Verse 2 is an expansion of detail already included in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Each Spider-Person Miles met had their own style, emphasizing that they belonged to another dimension. As an example, Peni Parker was drawn in an anime style while Miles was 3D animated.

With so much attention to detail in their first Spider-Verse film, it’s no wonder that Lord and Miller felt that Across The Spider-Verse needed to go beyond anything else they had done. Fans have already caught a glimpse of two of the art styles used in Spider-Verse 2, thanks to the trailer released in December, but all others remain a mystery. The only way to find out is to see Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Part One) in theaters next Fall.