Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse wowed audiences everywhere and became a bigger box office success than its predecessor. The Miles Morales-centric sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse tells a more epic story that cannot be contained in one film, which is why it ends on a cliffhanger and will be picking up with the follow-up, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. However, Sony has an extra bit of a Spider-Verse story up their sleeve. A short from Sony Animation titled The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story would premiere at the Annecy International Film Festival last summer.
Variety now reports that The Spider Within will be made available on YouTube as Sony Pictures partners with the Kevin Love Fund.The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story is a bold look into the mental health of Miles Morales. In signature Spider-Man characterization, Miles has to deal with the normal stress of being a teenager in today’s world prior to the added difficulties of being a superhero on top of that. The short explores his anxiety as he gets overwhelmed with school, work, exams and relationships. Miles suffers an anxiety attack that is personified “by a dark figure representing his alter ego as well as an imaginary infestation of spiders in his bedroom.”
Jarelle Dampier, the director of the short, addressed the nature of the film, “Miles represents so many of us doing the best we can in our day-to-day lives. We don’t often realize all that we’ve been through until our own body forces us to become aware of its experience. My intention is that The Spider Within can motivate deeper conversations amongst friends & family about their own mental health journeys — and I hope it feels like a love letter to those who adore Miles Morales.”
Former NBA player and mental health advocate, Kevin Love, also explained what he’d like to accomplish with the short, “My hope for the short film would be for everyone, especially young people, to understand that your feelings are valid and that you are not alone in this. You see it with Spider-Man in the short film, where Miles has a trusted confidante. He is able to take a walk with his dad and express what he’s going through. We can all learn from that – how important it is to reach out to someone, express your true emotions, speak your truth and not hold everything inside.”
The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story premieres on Sony Pictures Animation’s YouTube channel at 6 a.m. PT on March 27.