The news never stops when it comes to the Marvel Comic Universe. Every day, it seems like another plot leak, casting reveal, or major hint about an upcoming project from some mega-combination of Disney Plus, Marvel Studios, and/or Sony Pictures, released in collaboration with the eternal spirit of Stan Lee’s mustache and titled AvengersExtraSpidermanMultiverse: Loki Gets Revenge on Ragnorak Thormageddon Palooza, Extended Director’s Cut (available in theaters or via brain implant on December 11th, every day.
Issa Rae’s casting as Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Jessica Drew, in the sequel to 2018’s animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is both welcome and crucial. Rae will join returning stars Shameik Moore, who voiced the film’s hero Miles Morales, and Hailee Steinfeld, who played Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Both stars have already stated that they will participate in the sequel, which is expected to hit theaters on October 7th, 2022, following many reschedules. Rae is the first newcomer to be revealed.
The premise of the sequel is unknown, although it’s safe to presume it’ll follow the same multiverse format as Into the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales, a young Brooklyn child, becomes the new Spider-Man in the Oscar-winning film and acclimates to the position with the help of other Spider characters from other realms. Nicholas Cage gives a memorable performance as Spider-Man Noir, a pig who was bitten by a spider and now goes by the name Spider-Ham. John Mulaney plays a pig who was bitten by a spider and now goes by the name Spider-Ham.
Simply put, when Into the Spider-Verse originally came out, it blew people’s minds. From Barack Obama to Kevin Smith, almost everyone complimented the picture for its heart, humor, and comic book-come-to-life animation. “Honestly one of the coolest films I’ve ever seen. Do yourself a favor and go see this movie,” MCU’s Spider-Man and Esquire cover star Tom Holland wrote on Instagram, praising the flick.
In terms of the sequel’s highly guarded narrative, some have speculated that Spider-participation Woman suggests the film will involve a visit to Wundagore Mountain, one of the MCU’s most essential settings. Spider-Woman, who first appeared in the Marvel Universe in 1977, grew up on Wundagore Mountain after moving there with her family from London when she was a child.
The sequel, like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is set in a universe separate from the MCU Spider-Man films, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of a future collaboration between the two worlds. In the case of Spider-Woman, the two studios may establish an arrangement allowing them to share the character’s rights, similar to how they did with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movie. However, Sony and Marvel are currently working on their own versions of Spider-Woman. Emilia Clarke is supposed to have been cast as Spider-Woman in Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series, Secret Invasion, as reported by Esquire’s Brady Langmann.
There’s also the matter of Olivia Wilde’s next Marvel film. When she put the spider emoji on her Twitter in August of 2020, the Booksmart filmmaker practically revealed the “female-driven film” will focus on Spider-Woman. Because the film is technically a Sony production, I expect Issa Rae to star in it. But then Wilde revealed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is interested in the project, thus Emilia Clarke might be cast in the starring role.
