R-rated Across the Spider-Verse spinoff rumored to be in the works
Sony PicturesA new report claims that Sony Pictures Animation and Marvel Entertainment are developing an edgy Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse spinoff.
Sony and Marvel looking to expand the Spider-Verse franchise further certainly makes sense. The two films released under that banner to date have both enjoyed critical and commercial success.
2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse raked in $384.3 million at the box office and nabbed the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Its 2023 sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, webbed up an even more impressive $690.8 million in ticket sales and another Oscar nod.
One Spider-Verse side project – Spider-Woman – is already confirmed, and now it seems like a second spinoff is happening, as well.
R-rated Across the Spider-Verse spinoff rumored to be in the works
According to a subscriber update from scooper CanWeGetSomeToast, a movie headed up by Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk is on the way.
What’s more, the production will reportedly target an R-rating, in keeping with Spider-Punk’s gritty, anti-establishment vibe. CanWeGetSomeToast didn’t supply any other details about the Spider-Punk spinoff, other than to confirm it will be animated, not live-action.
Should a Spider-Punk flick ultimately swing its way into cinemas – and there’s no official word that one will – it would complete Hobie Brown’s big screen reversal of fortune. The alternate universe Spidey almost didn’t make it into Across the Spider-Verse, but went on to become one of the movie’s breakout characters.
Daniel Kaluuya addresses the possibility of a Spider-Punk movie
For his part, Daniel Kaluuya is definitely up for a solo Spider-Verse outing. The British actor said as much in a June 2023 interview, highlighting the dystopian nature of Spider-Punk’s reality as a great hook for future stories.
“I think his world is really interesting, this mix of London and New York,” Kaluuya explained. “It’s very oppressive, we spoke about George Orwell’s 1984, Hobie’s reality reminds us of that. I would love to watch that as a fan and if it happens it would be amazing, but if it doesn’t, we’ve got this.”
Across the Spider-Verse co-director Justin K. Thompson later confirmed he’s also keen for a Hobie-headlined outing. Thompson even noted that Across the Spider-Verse’s core supporting roster (including Hobie) were written with potential spinoff projects in mind.
“We invested as much into each of them so they could stand alone if needed,” he told GamesRadar. “And we wanted to give audiences a true sense that they were visiting something as fleshed out as a separate movie.”
