If Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a big hit with audiences over the weekend (it’s already a hit with critics by scoring 98% on Rotten Tomatoes), then producer Amy Pascal plans to hit the ground running with sequels and spinoffs. Surprisingly, the first direct sequel won’t focus solely on protagonist Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) but will heavily involve supporting character Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), aka Spider-Gwen.

Pascal provided some more details to Vanity Fair:

First, though, one of Pascal’s favorites, Gwen Stacy, will lead the way. The producer revealed that Sony’s upcoming Into the Spider-Verse sequel, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Voltron) and written by David Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Zombieland 2), will be focused on Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy—and will explore a romance between the two, a thread from Lord’s original script that ultimately didn’t fit in Into the Spider-Verse.

That seems…odd. On the one hand, a rom-com superhero movie feature Miles and Gwen sounds like it could be fun. But on the other hand, if Spider-Gwen is going to be more in the spotlight. I’d love to see a story that focuses on Gwen’s self-actualization in the same way that Spider-Verse gives us a complete arc for Miles and how he grows into being a hero.

However, Spider-Verse 2 will be a stepping stone to a wider universe of Spider-Women:

The Gwen and Miles adventure will serve as a launching pad for another Gwen-centric tale: Pascal also confirmed that a previously announced Spider-Women spin-off, written by Bek Smith, will feature Spider-Gwen and Cindy Moon (a.k.a. Silk) as well as Jessica Drew (a.k.a. Spider-Woman).

Pascal is smart that the writing is on the wall when it comes to female-led superhero movies. This is the Wonder Woman effect finally in action. We’ve seen it with the development of Birds of Prey, Marvel finally moving forward on Black Widow, and now we’re seeing it here. While I’m excited to see both more of Spider-Gwen and the Spider-Women spinoff, they’ll both have a high bar to clear when it comes to measuring up to the excellent Into the Spider-Verse.

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