While we all knew Sony Pictures Animation was releasing an animated Spider-Man movie in December of next year and that Miles Morales was the lead, until this weekend Sony hadn’t released the title or even confirmed whether Peter Parker would be making an appearance in the movie. But with CCXP (Comic-Con Experience) happening in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sony decided to use the biggest Comic-Con in South America to unveil new details about the web-swinger’s upcoming animated adventure by having producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller take the stage with Erico Borgo from Omelete to answer a few questions.

One of the big things fans wanted to know was, how would Peter Parker factor in the movie?

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Image via Sony Pictures Animation

In the various Miles Morales Spider-Man comics, which first started in 2011, we have seen different versions of the Peter Parker/Miles Morales relationship. In Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, Miles is bitten by a spider infected with Parker’s blood. Even though he has amazing abilities, Miles decides he just wants to live a normal life. But after watching Spider-Man die at the hands of Green Goblin, Miles is inspired to try his hand at being Spider-Man.

Conversely, in Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man, Peter Parker is alive and well and has a relationship with Miles. They even team up to fight Norman Osborn.

Which brings us back to the upcoming animated Spider-Man movie. Shortly after world premiering the trailer and announcing the title as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Lord (who also has sole credit on the screenplay) and Miller revealed that Peter Parker is definitely in the movie and plays a middle-aged mentor to Miles. While you might think this means Peter Parker has a big role, Lord and Miller made it clear this is a Miles Morales movie and Parker is passing the baton to Miles as the new Spider-Man.

Now before I go any further, I’m going to show you how if you were paying close attention during the trailer, you might have already picked up on some of this information and how, I think, the film is actually using some of the comic book storylines.

At the very end of the trailer, Miles is in a train station, sitting on a bench, talking to someone. In the scene, he says, “Wait…so how many of us are there?” The person sitting next to him is Peter Parker. He's the one on the left in the picture below!

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Image via Sony Pictures Animation

Going even further down the rabbit hole, towards the beginning of the trailer, Miles is in a cemetery and we can see what looks like Peter Parker on the headstone:

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Image via Sony

Next, when Sony Pictures Animation sent out the press release for the trailer, they included this info about the picture below

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) falls through an alternate-universe New York City in Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

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Image via Sony Pictures Animation

Finally, when the studio tweeted about the trailer, they said:

Enter a universe where more than one wears the mask.

Based on the above info, I think the animated movie is going to follow at least part of the storyline of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man by chronicling how Miles Morales got his powers and showing the death of Spider-Man. This would explain why Miles goes to the cemetery to visit Peter Parker’s grave. The film could then show Miles deciding to use his newfound powers for good, and as he tries them out, somehow ends up in an alternate universe where Peter Parker is still alive and becomes the mentor that Lord and Miller talked about.

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Image via Sony Pictures Animation

By doing this, you get to show a different side of Peter Parker that fans have never seen in a movie. You make all the Miles Morales fans happy because he’s the star of the show. And they've opened the door to a world where everything you know about Spider-Man is different and the future possibilities are endless. Finally, you make it very easy for people to understand this animated movie has nothing to do with the live-action Spider-Man movies, which I’m sure will make Marvel Studios happy. It’s a win-win for everyone.

However, I did learn a number of other things about the movie that are confirmed, because Lord and Miller didn’t just talk about how Peter Parker is involved in the film during the Q&A. As you can read over in the list below, they also talked about why the film looks the way it does, the tone, and more. Here's the full list of things to know

  • Lord and Miller made it clear this is a Miles Morales movie. They also said the film enters a big universe and the teaser trailer only shows a fraction of what’s to come.
  • Into the Spider-Verse is part of a “multiverse” and not part of the live-action Spider-Man
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    Image via Sony
    Miller and Lord talked about how they wanted to create a Spider-Man animated movie that makes you feel like you walked inside a comic book.
  • Chris Miller said the footage you see in the trailer is a new process that’s CGI animation that’s treated with "line work and painting and dots and all sorts of comic book techniques." They wanted to make it a living painting. The movie is being made to look like it was made by hand.
  • One of the things they wanted to show in the film is Peter Parker being the grownup in the room for the first time.
  • They are excited about being able to tell the story using camera moves and pushing the style in ways a live-action movie can’t. When you look at the first trailer, you can immediately see it’s unlike any animated movie you’ve seen.
  • When asked about the tone and if it’s going to be a comedy, they said while Miles Morales and Peter Parker can be funny, Into the Spider-Verse is an action-adventure movie.
  • Lord and Miller talked about how they wanted to make a movie about regular people who make a choice to be a hero. Not someone who was born to be one.

With the film is not set for release for another year, I'm sure it might be awhile until we learn more about the movie. But I love the teaser trailer and can't wait to see more. Until then...

If you missed what I learned about the Tom Hardy Venom movie at CCXP, click here to check it out. You can also click here for 15 things to know about The New Mutants movie from CCXP.

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Image via Sony

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