Issa Rae & Brian Tyree Henry Are Nerding Out About Across The Spider-Verse, Too

This story contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Don’t judge me: I watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for the very first time just last month. As a self-proclaimed superhero movie stan, I know how shameful that is. The critically acclaimed Sony and Marvel Entertainment animated collaboration came out in 2018 and is still widely considered one of the best origin stories in the expansive web-slinging canon, but its its recently released sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse might just replace it as the blockbuster to beat — just ask its stars and biggest fans, Brian Tyree Henry and Issa Rae. In a virtual conversation with R29 Unbothered, we all came to the same verdict: whether you watched the movie five minutes ago or were in the theatre when it hit theatres five years ago, the adventures of Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) just keep getting better and better.

Since we last saw Miles — it’s been five long years for us but only 16 months in his universe — life has hit him hard, but in a (mostly) good way. The winning combination of puberty and radioactive spider venom means that Miles is now a lot taller and stronger, and he’s finally gotten the hang of the whole Spider-Man thing. Sure, his big bads aren’t Thanos or even Green Goblin-level, but Miles has become pretty skilled at protecting the Brooklyn streets while also managing to keep his identity under wraps. The one thing he’s not doing so well? Staying connected to his parents Jeff (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Vélez), who are growing more concerned and suspicious about his distracted behaviour each day. Something about their son is different these days, and they’re worried because he’s keeping whatever he’s going through a secret. They chalk it up to typical teenage growing pains, but Miles has a much bigger problem on his hands: the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a bumbling new villain whose ability to travel through different dimensions at will makes him more of a threat than Miles realises.

Just when he thinks he’s got a handle on his new nemesis, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfield), Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), and the Spider Society appear out of thin air to take care of the situation. Under the strict leadership of Miguel O’Hara (a very grouchy but always charming Oscar Isaac), the Spider Society works to protect the sacred timeline from caving in on itself. (Sound familiar?) However, Miles doesn't quite meet the requirements for making the band because he’s an anomaly; Miguel nastily reveals that Miles only became Spider-Man after being mistakenly bitten by another universe’s radioactive spider. What’s worse, now that Miles is technically gang, he’s destined to suffer the painful universal fate of all Spider-folks: losing someone that he loves. (No, seriously — watching a family member or friend die is Spider-Man canon.) Devastated and confused, Miles sets out to prevent a tragedy before it happens, setting off a chain of wild events that puts everything he’s ever known about his life into question. 

Currently, Across the Spider-Verse sits at a solid 96% on Rotten Tomatoes for both its audience and critic score, and that excellent rating is well-deserved, especially given the high stakes of the sequel. After the overwhelming success of the first Miles Morales film, Sony knew that it had a lot to live up to. How does one perfect perfection? But with an origin story as rich as Miles’, screenwriters Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman saw a whole world of possibilities, and only months after Into the Spider-Verse’s theatrical release, the duo began penning its two follow-up scripts. The magic of Across the Spider-Verse lies not only in its extraordinary animation — the talented minds responsible for the movie’s animation utilise six very unique but equally stunning art styles throughout — but also in the effortless way each and every detail has been meticulously weaved into the story. Unlike other superhero series that struggle with continuity issues, the dots in the second leg of Miles’ adventures as Spider-Man are seamlessly connected. 

Superhero films intend to impart a lesson. Sometimes, the takeaway is about the power of friendship or family. In others, it’s about grief or the importance of forgiveness. In nearly all of the Spider-Man movies, the moral of the story is that anyone can be a hero if their heart is in the right place. Across the Spider-Verse is no exception, but the lesson at the core of this plot hits differently somehow. In this film, we learn that our Miles, Earth-1610’s Miles, was never meant to become Spider-Man. Let Miguel tell it, Miles doesn’t belong. Him getting powers wasn’t some act of God. Miles isn’t special, Miguel growls every chance he gets. He’s a mistake, and all mistakes have to be accounted for for the sake of the multiverse. But Miles knows better than to believe that lie: he’s special, he’s important, and he belongs. (At least, that’s what his mom says.) Miles’ life and his destiny are his own, and he’s not going to let anyone tell him any different. 

“Everyone keeps telling me how my story is supposed to go,” Miles says in frustration during a heated fight with Miguel and the Spider Society. “Nah — Imma do my own thing.”

“[This story] is a testimony to our writers and our directors, but also to the viewers, because we’ve needed to see that,” Henry said of the cultural impact of Miles’ journey during a Zoom interview with Unbothered prior to the film’s release. “These are images that we need to see, that these Black and brown kids need to see, so I'm just really grateful to do it with who I get to do it with. And if the first way it had to be done was animation, so be it, because fantasy can then quickly become a reality.”

In a genre that’s mostly populated by white characters with just a few sprinkles of heroes of colour that have overzealous comic book purists (read: racists) foaming at the mouth, it’s impossible to overstate the sociocultural impact of watching this Afro-Latinx teenager asserting his human right to take up space in the world, no matter the cost. (And it does cost; Miles’ very existence is quite literally unraveling the multiverse.) Life can be unkind to Black kids in a white world. At home, many of us are often taught from a young age to be perpetually cautious, to shrink ourselves so as to not attract the wrong kind of attention, to be on our best behavior so we can fit in. Outside, we’re just as careful, trying our best to get through life with as little drama as possible each day just to get by in a culture that seems intent on bringing physical, mental, and emotional harm. We do what we’re supposed to do just to survive, and it can seem like we have no say over the day to day happenings of our lives. In the real world, built on white supremacy, personal agency may feel like a difficult concept for Black and brown people to cultivate, but in Miles’ world, he understands that he’s not a bystander in his reality — he’s the master of his own fate. We can credit that self-possessed understanding to the loving encouragement of his parents Jeff and Rio, and it’s a take that the actors who voice Miles’ family are proud to put forth into the world, specifically for young Black and brown kids seeing themselves in popular media for the first time: you are special, you are important, and you belong.

Multi-hyphenate Issa Rae also stars in Across the Spider-Verse as Jessica Drew, a super cool version of the web-slinger who rides a motorcycle and fights crime while heavily pregnant. (Surprisingly, you might find yourself rooting against Rae for the very first time, like…ever. Jessica is sort of an opp in this film. “I was devastated when I got to the end of the movie,” Rae told Unbothered with a dramatic sigh. “Watching it in its totality, I was kinda bummed. I was like, ‘I know Jessica better get it together in part two and choose the winning team because I refuse to be a villain in Spider-Man’s story!’”) For her, joining the Spider-Verse meant tapping into her inner child and speaking to the things she wished she could’ve seen when she was younger. Rae just hopes that the poignant message of the film and the rich, colourful storytelling will be as meaningful for audiences young and old. 

“[People] can see themselves reflected in Miles, and they're aspiring to be this Afro-Latino teenager, because he means something to them — that’s so special to be part of,” she shared. It’s not just Miles’ unique experience that we’re connecting with, either; from Daniel Kaluuya’s anarchist Spider-Punk to Pavitr Prabhakar (voiced by Karan Soni) of Mumbai to Sun-Spider, a hero with a disability, his fellow Spider-people are also some of the best reflections of what the real world actually looks like. Even in a cartoon movie, that representation matters.

“There's just so many facets where people can point to and be like, Oh, I know that experience. They did it right. This is representative of me. And it doesn't feel too try-hard in a way,” continued Rae, who admittedly was skeptical about the first film’s critical reception. “It took me a long time to watch [Into the Spider-Verse] because I thought people were overhyping it and being on the Diversity™ train. But actually, it's so, so good.”

The reviews don’t lie: Across the Spider-Verse is an incredible project, and fortunately for us, this adventure is far from over — Beyond the Spider-Verse is set to hit theatres this time next year, and a spinoff series is also reportedly in the works. We’ve met and adored many Spider-Men in the past, but Miles’ story has always felt special because of the intention behind it: giving Black kids a Spider-Man of their own. And now, within the limitless expanse of the Spider-Verse, there’s room for all of us. 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now screening in theatres.