Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse follow. If you’re anything like me, you left the movie theater with your jaw dropped after watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse thanks to that major cliffhanger right at the end. And though we didn’t get a post-credits scene this time around, we did get a title card that let us know more is coming in the Spider-Verse, as Miles will return in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Now, this wasn’t exactly a secret — hardcore Marvel fans have known a threequel was in the works since 2021, when the first footage from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was revealed along with its title, which had a little addendum of “(Part One)” at the time. That’s right: Beyond the Spider-Verse was originally called Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part Two), so at least we know the events of the film are likely to directly follow everything that happened in Across the Spider-Verse. On April 25, 2022, Sony announced that the title had changed to Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Across the Spider-Verse was overwhelming enough on its own, thanks to the stunning animation — I saw the film in Dolby Cinema, which elevated the visuals and sound to another level with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. (Seriously, you haven’t watched this film correctly if you haven’t had the surround sound experience of Spider-People whizzing past you.) But a whole third movie is a truly exciting prospect, since the Spider-Verse movies are becoming some of the most creative and innovative in the superhero genre.
So what do we know about this third installment so far? If you’re itching for more Miles Morales and his gang of Spider-People, I’ve got you: Here are all the currently available details on Beyond the Spider-Verse’s release date, cast, plot, and more.
When is Beyond the Spider-Verse’s release date?
Good news: You won’t have to wait five years this time. According to Deadline, Beyond the Spider-Verse will premiere in theaters on March 29, 2024, less than a year after Across the Spider-Verse’s release date. Since these films were originally billed as a two-parter, it makes sense that the follow-would be swift.
We know a little about the cast of Beyond the Spider-Verse already.
As we know from the title card at the end of Across the Spider-Verse, Shameik Moore as Miles Morales will (obviously) be back as the central protagonist. But that’s not all: Director Kemp Powers also confirmed in an interview with Total Film that the Spot, voiced by Jason Schwartzman, would also be making a return. “He’s the villain of the next two films,” Powers said, “and let’s just say that the Spot and Miles are connected in surprising ways.”
This isn’t a surprise, as the Spot wasn’t defeated at the end of Across the Spider-Verse (actually, there were a lot of loose ends, but more on that later). We know from Across the Spider-Verse that the Spot was a scientist working at Alchemax whose role in the collider made it possible for Miles to get bitten by the radioactive spider from Earth-42, and who was in the collider room when Miles destroyed it, creating his multiverse-jumping holes (spots?). Apparently, he was also the guy Miles accidentally hit with a bagel while escaping Alchemax with Peter B. Parker in Into the Spider-Verse.
The Spot is actually one of the funnier Marvel villains, IMO, helped along by his unique powers that are both comical and really dangerous, so I wouldn’t mind another film with him at the helm. As for the other Spider-People and characters surrounding Miles, we don’t know yet if they’re officially cast in the third film, but I think it’s probably a safe bet that Gwen, Peter B. Parker, and many of the other characters make a return, since they come together to multiverse-jump right before the credits roll. Even the characters from Into the Spider-Verse, like John Mulaney’s Spider-Ham, make super quick (non-speaking) cameo appearances, so who knows? Perhaps Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, and the other actors missing from this sequel could return once more.
The plot will probably pick up right after Across the Spider-Verse.
That ending, though! Miles thinks he’s going home to Earth-1610, but jumps to the wrong universe and ends up in Earth-42. Earth-42 is the one universe that’s currently left without a Spider-Man thanks to the collider incident that let its spider escape into Earth-1610 where it bit Miles.
So in Earth-42, things are a bit different: Miles’ dad, police Captain Jefferson, is dead, and his uncle Aaron (who was killed as the Prowler villain on Earth-1610) is very much alive here. The biggest plot twist, of course, is that Aaron isn’t the Prowler here: Instead, the Miles Morales of Earth-42 is, and now Spider-Man Miles is trapped by him.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking: We know that there are two days left until the Spot will kill Earth-1610’s Jefferson as he’s sworn in as police captain, and while Miles had escaped from the Spider-People HQ to try and save his dad, he’s kind of in a pickle now. Miguel, aka Spider-Man 2099, is trying to catch Miles, since the police captain’s death is a canon event in every universe, and disrupting any part of the canon could have disastrous consequences for the multiverse. On top of that, Gwen is assembling a team of Spider-People after she realizes Miles went to the wrong universe, but we won’t get to see what sorts of butt-kicking they’ll get up to until Beyond the Spider-Verse.
So, we can guess that the crux of the movie will still largely focus on that countdown to Jefferson’s swearing in, as well as how Miles will escape from Earth-42. I can see now why the directors thought two parts to this story were needed — there’s truly so much to unpack.
For now, there’s no trailer or other info about Beyond the Spider-Verse, but I’ll update you with more news when I have it. This film looks like it has the potential to be even bigger than Across the Spider-Verse, so I can’t wait to see what else the Spider-Verse has in store.