NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Aside from the inverted skyline, the only giveaway that something is off in one of the most striking images of 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥� is the ponytail that鈥檚 sticking straight up in the air.
Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) have just reunited in the 鈥淚nto the Spider-Verse鈥� sequel. After giddily swinging through New York skyscrapers, they perch themselves on the underside of a clocktower ledge. Their view is ours: An upside-down city, shimmering in the distance.
鈥淓verything is the wrong way, but if feels right,鈥� says Phil Lord, who wrote and produced 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse鈥� with Christopher Miller.
In the movies of Lord and Miller, a filmmaking duo since they met in college at Dartmouth, down is frequently up, and up is often down. They鈥檝e turned seemingly terrible ideas 鈥� a Lego movie, a 鈥�21 Jump Street鈥� movie 鈥� into original works of antic, innovative comedy. One of their crowning achievements, took a hatchet to superhero movie conventions. Spider-Man, for the first time, He was also, thanks to a mosh pit of multiverses, just about anyone, or anything, you could think of.
鈥淲ith that mask that covers an entire body and face, you can imagine yourself in that suit,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淭he whole goal of this trilogy was to let everybody feel like it could be me, and show as many different types of people 鈥� and animals 鈥� being Spider-Man as possible.鈥�
It took nearly five years, a crew of a thousand and a cavalcade of Spider-People, but the second chapter of Miller and Lord鈥檚 鈥淪pider-Verse鈥� series has arrived. It might be their masterpiece. In 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse" 鈥� 鈥� Lord and Miller set out not just to surpass the high bar of their 2018 original but upend big-studio animation and the more-of-the-same expectations of sequel-making.
鈥淚t was an opportunity to show the limitless possibilities of animation in a studio film,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淔or too long, the studios were mandating that these films all look the same. And we wanted to blow the doors open on that.鈥�
鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse" certainly blasted expectations on opening weekend. It , way above tracking estimates and more than triple what 鈥淚nto the Spider-Verse鈥� launched with. What was once a quirky minor player in the hulking world of superhero movies has turned into not just a blockbuster but a genuine pop-culture sensation and, maybe, a new high point in comic-book movies.
鈥淲hen you have the confidence of the audience like I hope we have from the first movie, you sort of want to use it as a springboard to take more chances,鈥� says Lord. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 justify doing this with any other story or any other point in our careers. We were like: Let鈥檚 swing the biggest bat we can.鈥�
鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse,鈥� directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, continues the story of Miles, now a veteran crime-fighter but also a teenager with an increasingly strained relationship with his parents. They remain unaware of his secret identity.
But much isn鈥檛 straightforward in 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse," which Lord and Miller penned with David Callaham. There are countless other parallel Earths, each with their own Spider-Person. One is Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man鈥檚 traditional love interest who鈥檚 now a potent force, herself. Worlds collide, many times over.
There鈥檚 also a Spidey collective that keep these universes in balance by making sure certain canonical moments happen for each hero. There may be wide latitude in who can be Spider-Man, but a foundation of formula must be obeyed.
This battle with Canon is in many ways Lord and Miller鈥檚 fight, too. They鈥檝e spent their careers deconstructing convention and inverting tropes. They have sometimes pushed right up against Hollywood's limits. In mid-production on 鈥淪olo,鈥� the Han Solo standalone 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film, they were famously replaced after
鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse,鈥� a part two ending in an abrupt cliffhanger, plunges directly into the question: So what is gospel for Lord and Miller? Is anything?
鈥淲ho seeks to become an artist in order to be a column that upholds the temple?鈥� says Lord, laughing. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 no fun.鈥�
The 鈥淪olo鈥� kerfuffle might have been their 鈥淣etwork鈥� moment. (鈥淵ou have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale.鈥�) Instead, Lord and Miller have, if anything, doubled down on their devotion to tearing up Hollywood playbooks.
鈥淲e have a natural aversion to the dangers of nostalgia. It can be a calcifying effect on people,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of anger and hate coming out of wanting to preserve things the way they鈥檝e always been. That鈥檚 not how society works. We need to keep evolving and making things new and growing. We can鈥檛 just perfectly preserve the past.鈥�
鈥淭he movies you love were all daring in their time,鈥� adds Lord. 鈥淭he idea isn鈥檛 to copy them. It鈥檚 to be as equally daring as 鈥楽now White鈥� or 鈥楾oy Story鈥� or 鈥楯aws.鈥欌��
Their collage-like films, like Michael Rianda's family road trip 鈥淭he Mitchells vs. The Machines,鈥� are often in some way contemplating humanity in increasingly digital worlds. Lord and Miller were behind the meme-turned-movie 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� earlier this year.
Set to a modern hip-hop beat and chock-full of ever-changing shocks of color that channel the 2-D art of comic books, 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse" summons multiverses with the ease of a keystroke. But it does so far more playfully, disorderly and distinctly un-algorithm-like. Striving for originality, they say, is "how to keep the robots guessing.鈥�
鈥淭he AI isn鈥檛 going to generate something new and original,鈥� says Miller, who along with Lord, is an outspoken Writers Guild member in where . 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to just do an imitation of the things that came before it. It鈥檚 our job as humans to keep making things new.鈥�
But as dizzying as 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse鈥� can be visually, the imagery is ultimately in service of its central characters' inner lives. To the 28-year-old Moore, Miles鈥� appeal isn鈥檛 that he鈥檚 exceptional. It鈥檚 that he鈥檚 recognizably ordinary.
鈥淭here are young Black kids that are just like Miles. Regular, cool, kinda nerdy, weird, loveable kids. Same thing on the Hispanic side,鈥� says Moore. 鈥淧eople want to meet him. My lines at Comic-Con are insane.鈥�
Moore never received a script for either film, just a sense of major plot points. Three times a month, for four years, he would go into a recording booth for six-hour sessions with Lord, Miller and the directors.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l play with it for hours. We鈥檒l do another session where they lock in on whatever they like the most and then they鈥檒l play with it again. It鈥檚 really like they鈥檙e having fun, more than anything,鈥� says Moore. 鈥淭he whole project is being treated like a passion project. It doesn鈥檛 feel like someone is watching over them.鈥�
At the same time, 鈥淎cross the Spider-Verse鈥� grapples with not just the responsibilities of Spider-Man (Miles) but of his anxious, doubting parents (Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren V茅lez) and Gwen鈥檚 disapproving father (Shea Whigham). It鈥檚 a coming-of age-story, but as Miller says, 鈥渢he parents have to come of age, too.鈥�
鈥淎nd what makes someone legitimate?鈥� says Lord. 鈥淒o you seek that outside of yourself? Or can you simply seek your own approval? Miles is like all of us hoping for validation outside. But it can never really satisfy you. You have to take it on yourself. Even though the movie ends in a cliffhanger, I think that鈥檚 what he achieves. It鈥檚 an epic action movie where the story is really internal. He鈥檚 the MacGuffin.鈥�
Some of the same questions exist for Lord and Miller, both 47 and increasingly prominent power players with a long pipeline of projects in development. Later this summer they have the R-rated dog comedy 鈥淪trays" in theaters. Even a live-action movie for Miles is in the mix.
鈥淵ou always feel like an outsider even if you鈥檙e working inside these big companies,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淥therwise, you become the Empire.鈥�
鈥淏eyond the Spider-Verse,鈥� the third film in the trilogy is due out in less than a year, on March 29. It will bring to a conclusion Miles鈥� looming battle with Spider-Man Canon. Just how far Miles 鈥� and Lord and Miller 鈥� are able to stretch the Marvel webslinger will be put to a final test.
Given who鈥檚 behind these films, don鈥檛 put a lot of money on Canon emerging victorious.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
