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It’s crazy to think that it’s been five years since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters in 2018. During the same year as Spider-Verse’s premiere, I noticed a huge spike in mature animated storytelling in the West. Since then, we’ve seen a steady growth of bold, new animated films and shows that are exploring new genres, art styles, and new perspectives. Now, with the premiere of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, it’s a great time to reflect on Spider-Verse as a pop-culture sensation, how it has changed the cultural conversation around animation, and why that conversation needs to continue.
The Impact of Spider-Verse
We can see the Cel-shaded look popularized by Spider-Verse being utilized in other spectacular animated stories like: Arcane, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Bad Guys, Entergalactic, and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Audiences have grown to expect different kinds of stories from animated films, and with different art styles.
I hope that more animated films feel emboldened to follow Spider-Verse’s example and explore new artistic influences, pull from real life, push the stylistic limitations of animation, create memorable characters, embrace serious dramatic stakes, experiment with bold cinematography, and convey meaningful themes. We need more dramatic, high stakes, adventure stories with fresh art, creative presentation, and diverse characters.
Why It Matters
It’s important that Across the Spider-Verse has done so well. There’s an expression in Hollywood that “no one is racist against the color green.” People of all colors and creeds have responded to Miles’s story. Hollywood higher-ups are running out of excuses to deny diversity. This film comes at a pivotal time in American History. We’ve seen the rise of diversity and representation in fiction but we have also seen the rise of censorship, hate crimes, and white-supremacy in our communities. Spider-Verse is important because superheroes are American icons and kids like Miles and Gwen are the faces and voices of America’s future.
What’s Next?
The success of Across the Spider-Verse opens up exciting new possibilities. Sony Pictures Animation could very well become the new gold standard for animated filmmaking, provided that they play their cards right. Visionary director, Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack) is developing two new feature films for Sony. Fixed is an R-rated animated comedy about a bachelor dog who tries to make his night the best ever after hearing that he’s going to be neutered. Black Knight is an original, action-adventure epic that tells the story of a highly skilled and faithful knight who, after failing to protect his king, must transform himself into the Black Knight to save the kingdom.
The President of Sony Pictures Animation, Kristine Belson, said they would love to do a PG-13 film and they already have R-rated films and TV series in the works. This bodes well for the normalization of prestige adult animation. It would also be wise to give Spider-Verse-artist, Alberto Mielgo a theatrically released feature film. Mielgo has stunned audiences with his Love Death + Robots shorts, Jibaro and The Witness. If he were to direct a theatrically released adult animation film it would cause a shock to the entertainment industry.
In Conclusion
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a thrilling and fun follow-up to the first film and sets the stage for a spectacular trilogy. Its impact is already being felt in the animation industry. The conversation surrounding Spider-Verse should grow beyond what makes a good superhero film, and spark conversations about representation in media, the artistic potential for animation, and how we can be the heroes in our own lives.
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