TV & Movies

Is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in the MCU?

Lucy-Jo Finnighan
Tom Holland as Spider-Man and a still from Across the Spider-VerseSony Pictures

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may involve many universes, but does it take place in the MCU?

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is considered by many to be the best Spider-Man movie of all time, so to say that people are excited for the film’s sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, would be an understatement. And at long last, it’s finally here.

As we stated in our review of the film, “The Spider-Verse movies as a whole are a masterclass of animation and what it can do. From the visuals to the characters, to the comedy and the action, for every criticism we have, there’s a multi-verse load of positives.”

But with a multi-verse happening not just in the Spider-Verse films, but the MCU as well, which has even pulled in Sony films such as the Venom franchise, you may be wondering if Across the Spider-Verse takes place in, or is anyway linked to, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, read on, and we’ll explain.

Does Spider-Verse 2 take place in the MCU?

Not exactly. While there are references to the MCU movies, the Spider-Verse franchise – which is helmed by Sony, not Disney – is not part of the film line up of the MCU. We’d actually argue that the MCU takes place in Across the Spider-Verse, rather than the other way around.

See, here’s the synopsis for Across the Spider-Verse: “After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders. He must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.”

As Miles Morales traverses numerous Spider-worlds – the main being Miguel O’Hara’s Spider Society on Earth-928 – we get glimpses of other realities, along with other Spider-People. The film establishes that every Spider-Person comes from a different world, and that – unless the Spider Society gets involved – every Spider-Person’s story takes place separately from other realities.

This means that Miles, who lives on Earth-1610, is in a separate reality from the MCU, which takes place on Earth-199999. Meaning that we won’t be seeing Miles join the Avengers anytime soon.

Some fans may have been wondering if the two worlds would collide, since Spider-Man: No Way Home already brought Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men into the same world as Tom Holland.

Now, there are some nifty cameos and Easter eggs in Across the Spider-Verse that allude to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man universe, which you can read about here. But it has been confirmed by the creators of the animated film that these are just fun references, and nothing more. At most, the Easter eggs confirm that the MCU exists in the multiverse that Miles explores, but it is only one small part of it.

Co-director of Across the Spider-Verse, Kemp Powers, actually explained to Comic Book that Miles is not connected to the MCU, even if his films allude to the franchise: “The world of Miles Morales and Spider-Verse, it’s not tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything like that,” he explained.

“But this is a Lord and Miller film. We like to have a little bit of fun, we like to be a little bit meta and to acknowledge the world in which we are creating these stories. That’s the best way to explain it. This isn’t something where we did anything in conjunction with Marvel. Miles’s universe, trust me, there’s plenty to work with.”

But while this news may disappoint fans, don’t worry too much. As shown by the trailer below, there’s still plenty more Spider-Worlds for Miles to swing through:

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into cinemas on June 2, 2023. Check out our other coverage below:

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