Brand-new footage from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse screened at Comic-Con today, with footage of the title character, as well Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Penny Parker. Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman took to the stage alongside Jake Johnson (Peter Parker), and Shameik Moore, (Miles Morales), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy), Chris Miller, and Phil Lord.
Miller and Lord said that they love Miles Morales, and would only make the movie if he was the central character. They added it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Akin to walking into the pages of a 3D comic book.
As Rothman puts it: “We’re trying to push every aspect of this in a way that you haven’t seen before. As for the characters, it really starts with the [comic] book. Miles and his family and their relationship; that’s the heart of the movie.”
Celebrating Unique, Diverse Characters
Moore said that playing Morales meant a lot to him. “He’s a black Spider-Man,” he explained. “Black and Mexican. I think that’s very powerful and iconic.”
As for playing Peter Parker, Jake Johnson said, “It’s Peter Parker at 40 — with a bad back and not sure if he still wants to be Spider-Man. It’s chubby Peter Parker. Miles wants him to be a mentor, but he doesn’t see himself as a mentor or teacher.”
Steinfeld plays Gwen Stacy and says of the character, “I get to play a female superhero. And not just any superhero — the first Spider-Woman. She is the coolest and the smartest and the toughest. She’s got so much to her. I love the relationship she has with Miles.”
Weaving the Spider-Verse Web
As for the Spider-Verse itself, Phil Lord said, “The Spider-Verse is basically all of these different ways of telling a story. What if those different stories intersected? What would happen if these people met?”
A new trailer then screened in which Miles heads to school and hears voices in his head that appear on screen as comic book speech bubbles. He gets tangled up in Gwen Stacy’s air, embarrassing himself in front of the whole school. We then see him grieving at Peter Parker’s grave. And tussling with a very much alive Peter Parker whom he knocks out and drags through the streets on the end of his web.
The spectacular footage then ends with Miles asking Peter to teach him how to be Spider-Man, the pair fighting crime together, and a glimpse at Spider-Man Noir (voiced by Nicolas Cage), Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and Penny Parker, all of whom were greeted with cheers from the Comic-Con crowd.