Star Oscar Isaac says that his Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse version of Spider-Man 2099 doesn’t crack jokes all the time. Talking with Screen Rant about the highly-anticipated animated sequel, Isaac revealed that his version of the hero is the most serious Spider-Man ever, teasing that a different kind of Web Crawler will be introduced in Across the Spider-Verse.
Besides his iconic uniform with a spider spread across his chest, every iteration of Spider-Man is known for using humor to hide their insecurities. Since Spider-Man was imagined as a teenage superhero, creator Stan Lee decided making jokes all the time would be how a kid would deal with the pressure of fighting bad guys while wearing a mask. So, the idea of a super serious Spider-Man is intriguing, to say the least. However, besides pointing out how the Across the Spider-Verse Spider-Man 2099 is a stern guy, Isaac also underlined how his personality creates a conflicting dynamic between the Spider-People, and that fans will surely laugh about these weird interactions.
In Isaac’s words:
“It's been really fun working on that with [producers] Phil Lord and Kemp Powers. The thing I can say is, what makes this character so funny is that he's the one Spider-Man that doesn't have a sense of humor. Because all of them act like-- they're like wisecracks, right? Everybody wisecracks, except this guy just doesn't. He's a very serious Spider-Man.”
Released in 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gained the hearts of critics and the public alike, with a unique art style that mimics comic books and a profoundly emotional story featuring many Spider-People – and one Spider-Pig. The film's success led to Sony greenlighting a sequel, which became so big in scope that it was split into two parts. The first sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, is set to premiere in 2023 after a significant delay. The second part, recently titled as Beyond the Spider-Verse, will follow in 2024.
The franchise's first film was praised for how each of the Spider-People had its own unique art style, based on classic cartoons, Japanese manga, or noir comic books. In the sequel, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) will travel through different realities, allowing the creative team to develop a different look for each dimension. As Miller previously said:
“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.”
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be directed by a trio of directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) writes the script together with Lord and Miller.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on June 2, 2023. The second part of the story, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse follows a little less than a year later on March 24, 2024.