The obvious thought that comes to mind is that the secret fifth universe is a live-action universe that will be stuffed with cameos … but hopefully “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” resists that idea and goes with something less obvious. Though Sony Pictures does have a deal with Marvel Studios that could theoretically allow any number of Marvel Cinematic Universe characters to pop up, it’s kind of nice to have Miles and his pals in a multiverse of their own.
Besides, this movie is already packed with interesting characters. In addition to the return of Miles and Gwen and their cute, awkward teenage romance, there’s also the aforementioned Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Punk, Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), Pavitr Prabhakar aka Spider-Man India (Karan Soni), and supervillain Jonathan Ohnn aka the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), whose superpowers could prove to be very visually interesting in their animated form.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” releases in theaters on June 2, 2023. Another sequel, “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” will release on March 29, 2024.