Right now is an incredible time to be a Spider-Man fan. The days of Sam Raimi's films were great in the 2000s, but they pale in comparison to the riches that the world has currently. Spider-Man: No Way Home released last December, and it's still one of the biggest ongoing conversations on the internet. This isn't a surprise given how it brings together three generations of the webhead and his live-action adventures.
Live-action isn't the only place where the famous wall-crawler has made an unforgettable mark. It's hard to forget Into the Spider-Verse, an animated film that not only made massive strides in animation itself but also quickly became one of the most beloved Spidey tales of all time.
A proper sequel is on the way later this year, one that brings back Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen for another romp. Titled Across the Spider-Verse, this time, Miles is the one traveling through different universes while meeting other new Spider-Men like Oscar Isaac's Spider-Man 2099.
Given how popular that world is, could fans see a connection happening between the live-action and animated stories?
MCU Spider-Verse Connections Teased
During an interview on Josh Horowitz' Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse writer-producer duo Chris Miller and Phil Lord talked about their animated universe and its connection to the live-action MCU tellings.
When asked about what was possible, Miller replied, "The Multiverse is big and wider," while questioning why one would think the two couldn't be related:
"The Multiverse is big and wide. And all things grow... Why would you think a Multiverse, in which many things are possible, that [those things are] not related?"
Lord sarcastically added: "Everything's possible except for this one thing that everyone wants."
While the two didn't confirm any specific connection, their comments were meant to make it clear that those ties were possible, given the endless opportunities that the Multiverse presents.
Horowitz went on to ask if the two knew what was going to happen in Spider-Man: No Way Home and if those events impacted their plans on the animation side of the proceedings.
Lord confirmed that they've always "been in the loop," and how they try to "not [step] on each other's toes [so we tell] different types of stories:"
"... Amy Pascal, who was producer on Spider-Verse and also on live-action Spider-Mans... she's been sort of our conduit to knowing exactly what's going on in the Spider-Verse in various forms. The writers and director are all buddies of ours, so we sort of have been in the loop as far as what's going on. And we are always trying to make sure we're not stepping on each others toes and telling different types of stories and different themes and all that stuff, because people want an original story that feels new and interesting. It's our job to give it to them."
Miller labeled it as "a bit of a forced collaboration," but one that "makes your thing better because you're having to come up with [something new], and not the obvious thing:"
"It's a bit of a forced collaboration. You're collectively advancing this humongous mega-story, and you have total control over your little sliver of it. And everything else you just have to communicate as much as possible, make adjustments, and kind of treat what everybody else is doing as a sort of approvacation... It's almost like a film school exercise where you're like, ' Okay, we were gonna do that but they did it first, so we're gonna have to do something different.' And often that makes you think of something you wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and it makes your thing better because you're having to come up with an offspeed pitch, and not do the obvious thing. The first Spider-verse was like that too. It's playing off of the canon and that gives you the freedom to do something else."
The Vast Connections of the Spider-Verse
With what happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans should never discount any possibilities. No one would have guessed five years ago that they'd get an MCU Tom Holland Spidey film where Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin was the main villain and that he'd team up with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to stop him.
Both Miller and Lord mentioned awhile back that the two of them had wanted both Garfield and Maguire to make cameos but were turned down. That goes to show that there has been an effort in the past to make those connections, and given the success of No Way Home, the likelihood of those kinds of crossovers happening is exponentially higher.
Even Tom Holland and Zendaya have made it clear that they'd love to take part in something like that. Apparently, casual conversations about the possibilities were had while filming his most recent MCU outing.
At this point, it's all but guaranteed that a crossover will happen. It's not a matter of if, but rather when; hopefully sooner rather than later.
Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters worldwide on October 7 later this year.
