Bad news for those with weak bladders: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse becomes the newest addition to the recent slew of blockbusters with runtimes stretching past the two-hour mark, clocking in at 2 hours 20 minutes according to AMC's listing of the film. The sequel to 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse runs for almost half an hour longer than its predecessor - which had a duration of 1 hour 56 minutes - as it becomes the longest major animated film by a Hollywood studio ever.
The upcoming film's runtime breaks the record for longest animated film beating out current title-holder 2012's Consuming Spirits, which has a duration of 2 hours and 16 minutes. Across the Spider-Verse becomes the most recent of a current trend of blockbuster films with hefty runtimes - fellow super-hero flick Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 recently released with a runtime of 2 hours 29 minutes, John Wick: Chapter 4 hit theaters with a duration of 2 hours 49 minutes. Kathleen Kennedy recently confirmed that the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will clock in at 2 hours 22 minutes, while Martin Scorsese's new film Killers of the Flower Moon will reportedly release at a whopping 3 hours 26 minutes. These follow last years Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water which had lengthy runtimes of 2 hours 41 minutes and 3 hours 21 minutes respectively. Gone are the days of the "Tight Ninety."
Across The Spider-Verse Has a Lot to Handle
One reason for Across The Spider-Verse's lengthy runtime may be its sizable ensemble cast, as the film sees Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) catapulted across the multi-verse as he encounters other world versions of Spider-heroes. The film's cast also includes Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy AKA Spider-Gwen, Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099 Miguel O'Hara, Jake Johnson as O.G. Spider-Man Peter Parker, Issa Rae as Spider-Woman Jessica Drew, and Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk. The cast also includes Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez and Rachel Dratch. It was also reported that Andy Samberg will be appearing in the film in a currently unknown role. With a cast as stacked as this it comes as little surprise that the film will require an extended runtime in order to properly manage its storylines. However, one character who will not be appearing in the sequel will be Spider-Man Noir as played by Nicolas Cage in the series' first installment back in 2018.
When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hits screens back in 2018 it was met with both critical and commercial acclaim, grossing $384.3 million against its $90 million budget and earning a score of 97% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, a success which the sequel will undoubtedly will be seeking to replicate.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be released into theaters on June 2. You can check out the trailer for the upcoming sequel below: