Spider-Man: Spider-Verse 2 trailer reveals how Sony can beat the MCU

The Spider-Man world keeps growing. While the MCU multiverse is (possibly) incorporating past iterations of Spider-Man, Sony’s animated Spider-Man franchise charged in a new direction with the Oscar-winning film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. With Spider-Man: No Way Home only a couple weeks away, Sony is back with a first look at a sequel that proves Miles Morales isn’t going anywhere.

In fact, the animated movie series may be much larger than we ever imagined. Here’s everything you need to know.

The trailer for the Into the Spider-Verse sequel shows a more mature Miles Morales brought back into the fray by Spider-Gwen. But the most surprising aspect was the title card, which reads Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One). Considering this film has so far only been referred to as Into the Spider-Verse 2, this is a huge revelation that promises a third film to finish what will potentially be a big cliffhanger.

Multi-part movies within a larger series aren’t unusual, but they’re usually used to split up a final installment in order to have a satisfyingly epic ending. Think of how the Twilight series ended with Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2, or Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2. Even Avengers: Endgame was originally meant to share the name of its predecessor. A direct sequel being the first of a two-parter is promising, but confusing.

What does this mean for the future of the Spider-Verse? Well, there are a few clear possibilities. First, the multi-part structure could signal a trilogy for this franchise, meaning the entire saga will consist of three movies, with the final two being a two-part story.

The other, more exciting possibility is that this a result of the massive fan response to Into the Spider-Verse. The huge support of the fanbase and the recent release of a critically and commercially successful “Part One” in Dune could mean Sony is getting more ambitious. This could just be one two-part story in a larger plan. Maybe the next narrative of the Spider-Verse will even be told over three movies!

While it’s doubtful anyone is objecting to more of the innovative animation style of the Spider-Verse, could a bigger story backfire? One of the benefits of Into the Spider-Verse was its originality and ease of access. While Marvel movies require lots of context provided by past films, and Spider-Man: No Way Home will require viewing of seven different Spider-Man films in order to understand each villain’s backstory, the characters of the Spider-Verse were just as new to us as they were to Miles Morales. Being different from the MCU is what made the first film great, so using the same playbook may be counter-productive.

Regardless, the Spider-Verse is proving to be impressive and ambitious enough to co-exist with the largest superhero movie franchise ever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even as the MCU’s Peter Parker tries merging timelines together, Miles Morales will find new and exciting ways to explore — and depict — the Spider-Verse he inhabits. The more friendly neighborhood Spider-Men, the merrier.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) premieres in theaters October 7, 2022.