The premiere of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is set to hit theaters on June 2. The film is a sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The official trailer dropped in December, leaving fans wondering why some Spider variants weren’t included. The missing Spider variants are Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Spider-Noir (Nicholas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and her Spider-bot SP//Dr. There hasn’t been any confirmation about why these original Spider variants aren’t featured or where they might be during Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) first adventure away from his home universe. So does that mean they’re not in the film, or is the trailer attempting to trick us?
Fans believe their absence may be a form of protection. The villain, The Spot, can collapse the entire Spider-verse, destroying different realities. This means the missing Spider variants have a potential risk of being erased from existence, according to Screen Rant — so that could either be a possible explanation for their absence, or they could still make an appearance that was just too spoiler-y to show in a trailer.
As for Mulaney’s absence specifically, it may be due to scheduling difficulties, as he recently released a Netflix stand-up special, Baby J. He was also released from rehab in early 2021, and became a father in November 2021. Mulaney has been open about his battle with drug addiction and even details his experience in his new comedy special. It’s safe to say the SNL alum has had a pretty eventful few years, which could have possibly affected his role in the new movie.
Although a few familiar faces will be missing, many new characters are set to make a feature. One of the most anticipated new faces is Ghost-Spider or Ghost-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld). A radioactive spider bit her, and she became a superhero after failing to save Peter Parker. Fans are also excited to see Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman (Issa Rae). Spider-Woman appears to be one of the Spiders to side with Miles in the Spider civil war. Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Issac) plays an antagonist to Miles. According to the trailer, there seems to be a growing feud between him and Miles.
Across The Spider-Verse is filled with a star-studded cast, including Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), and Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry). The soundtrack to the film is also highly anticipated, as Metro Boomin is an executive producer and is set to release an entire album with original music inspired by the film. Metro has already featured one of the songs from the soundtrack on his Instagram, titled “Hummingbird,” laced with heavenly vocals from James Blake. It’s safe to say I’m excited for this release. The soundtrack to Into the Spider-Verse was a hit with the break-out record “Sunflower” from Post Malone and Swae Lee. The song was nominated for Record of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.
As June 2 comes closer, the excitement builds for Across The Spider-Verse, and patiently waiting fans will finally have some questions answered.