Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will juggle six different animation styles

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was one hell of a visual fest, with a ground-breaking animation style that emulated the comics on which it was based. The story of Miles Morales will continue in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which will open up the Multiverse even more. To that end, it seems that the movie will feature six different animation styles this time around.

“The first film had one animation style that dominates the movie. This movie has six,” Phil Lord told Empire. “So we’re taking those tools, adding all the things we learned on The Mitchells Vs The Machines, and then growing them further to accommodate the ambition of this movie. Which is to wow you every time you enter a new environment, and also to make sure that the style of the movie reflect the story, and that the images are driven by feelings, as opposed to some egg-headed art project. Which it also is, by the way!”

We got a look at two of those animation styles in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse first look teaser late last year. “The two that you saw in the teaser trailer were what’s called Earth-50101, which we’re calling ‘Mumbattan’ – that’s based on an Indian comic-book look – and Nueva York from Spider-Man 2099’s world,” Christopher Miller explained. “That’s based on Syd Mead-style illustrations of what the future might look like. There’s also Gwen’s world, which is Earth-65. And that was a watercolour-wash style that’s reminiscent of the covers of her comic books.” As visually exciting as the animation styles are, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Into the Spider-Verse had a fantastic story at its core, something I hope carries on with the sequel.

Per the official synopsis, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will find Miles Morales returning for “an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.” Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will debut on June 2, 2023, followed by Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on March 29, 2024.