As Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse continues to rack up rave reviews for delivering yet another wildly inventive visual extravaganza featuring Miles Morales, newcomers to the series might be wondering if they really need to watch the first film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse before jumping into the sequel.
The answer: yes.
The groundbreaking first film contains a significant amount of world-building and character introductions that are key to enjoying the sequel. Specifically, Into the Spider-Verse sets up Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as the new Spider-Man in his reality while laying the foundation for the “Spider-Verse,” which is basically a multiverse packed with various different Spider-People.
One of those Spider-People is Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) an older, more down on his luck version of the classic character who regains his confidence by mentoring Miles. Also in the mix is Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), a multiversal variant of Peter Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy, who becomes her world’s Spider-Man after her version of Peter is murdered. Miles, Gwen, and Peter B. are the core characters for the Spider-Verse films and missing out on the start of their friendship is not the best idea.
Keeping up with the plot details and characters aside, you should also watch Into the Spider-Verse because it’s just a downright good movie. It was nominated for an Oscar! The film introduced a bold new style of animation that pushed the limits of what comic book movies can be, and based on early reviews, the sequel not only kept the ball rolling but moved the series into exciting new directions.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse thwips into theaters on June 2.
