Spider-Verse 2 Should Include Spectacular Spider-Man After Unfair Ending

If Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is looking to pay homage to past animated Spidey cartoons, then The Spectacular Spider-Man should get its due too. Thanks to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures successfully got to adapt the popular concept to the big screen. While it establishes Spider-Men from alternative realities, it also allowed Miles Morales to be introduced to the mainstream audience. Following its massive success, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is on its way as it will continue to explore Miles and Spidey doppelgangers from parallel worlds. But the franchise has also served as a vehicle to pay homage to past Spider-Man franchises over the decades.

In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans of the 1967 animated series got a huge tribute at the end while introducing Spider-Man 2099. However, it appears that another iconic animated property might be getting involved in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2. It’s being reported that Christopher Daniel Barnes, who voiced Peter Parker in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is in “final talks” to reprise the part in the upcoming sequel. While it has yet to be confirmed, this could pave the way for another beloved Spider-Man cartoon to be honored too. While the ’90s show has become a staple in Spider-Man’s media history, the short-lived The Spectacular Spider-Man managed to get a cult audience despite only running for two seasons.

Created by Greg Weisman and Victor Cook, The Spectacular Spider-Man ran from between 2008 to 2009 and was canceled due to legal issues between Disney and the show’s original studio, Sony Pictures Television. But despite the premature ending, fans have been fighting to see The Spectacular Spider-Man be revived for a third season. The show was a modernized take on the Spider-Man mythology while also drawing inspiration from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy as well as various comics. The biggest upside with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is that its storytelling format was born to be able to mix it up with new ideas while also being able to nod to what came before.

If Barnes is truly reprising his ’90s iteration then it wouldn’t be impossible to incorporate Josh Keaton’s take on the web-slinger too. It’s understandable The Spectacular Spider-Man will never get the type of revival that Weisman’s Young Justice did as Sony and Marvel Animation have moved on. However, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 could be the next best thing for fans of the short-lived cartoon. That could be the proper way to give that version a solid conclusion by getting to take part of the Sont Spider-Verse saga. Whatever ideas the creative team had for The Spectacular Spider-Man season 3 and beyond can be reflected or even hinted at during a potential Keaton cameo.

It would feel weird if Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 could go to the lengths of including Spider-Man: The Animated Series, but not The Spectacular Spider-Man. It’s unlikely that a cameo would somehow trigger the idea of reviving the series, at least not while Marvel’s Spider-Man is airing on Disney XD. But at the very least, it would be fun to see Keaton’s web-crawler get to return for at least one last time and go out with a bang by being in a theatrical animated film. The beauty of this franchise is that they can pull from any iteration of Spider-Man. Seeing Spider-Man: The Animated Series’s Barnes and The Spectacular Spider-Man’s Keaton together would be a cool way for their shows to cross over, which would only be possible through Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2.