SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors Cut A "Huge" Live-Action Sequence; Explain [SPOILER]'s Cameo

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors Cut A "Huge" Live-Action Sequence; Explain [SPOILER]'s Cameo

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's directors reveal they cut a massive live-action sequence from the sequel while also breaking down how that jaw-dropping cameo appearance from a certain actor happened.

News
By JoshWilding - Jun 07, 2023 05:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Into The Spider-Verse
Source: Variety (via Toonado.com)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features a handful of live-action cameos, though at least one of those moments was something of a let-down. 

The Spot encountering the Venom franchise's Mrs. Chen was a fun moment but one that recycled B-Roll footage from Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Still, as underwhelming as it may have been, Donald Glover's surprise appearance as a live-action Prowler more than made up for it! 

Talking to Variety (via Toonado.com), co-director Kemp Powers revealed how late that ended up falling into place. 

"It was shot at a studio in New York," he explains. "Chris Miller flew to be there in person, and Phil Lord and I were on the video feed giving direction. We got it in at the 11th hour. As a matter of fact, even in audience preview screenings, it was a little cardboard cutout of Donald Glover."

Co-director Joaquim Dos Santos adds, "We knew it was still going to land, though, because the idea of it still got people geeked. That’s when you know you have something."

As exciting as that was, it sounds like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse once had even grander ambitions for an entire live-action sequence. While the filmmakers declined to reveal too many specific details about that, it sounds like it would have featured at least a few familiar faces. 

"There were times when we had huge live-action sequences in the film, and it just turned into a bad joke," Powers says. "Even we didn’t like it anymore. And we just said, 'OK, enough, let’s make sure that it’s something precise that gets the most bang for the buck, and speaks to the story.'"

Fans remain eager to see the live-action Spider-Men appear in 2024's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, and it's entirely feasible this was where they once appeared. We'll just have to wait and see.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters. 

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bobevanz
bobevanz - 6/7/2023, 5:15 AM
As cool as it was seeing Troy Barnes live out his hopes and dreams, it really does stick out in a jarring way. Anymore than his cameo and it would have been tacky and cringe. #sixseasonsandamovie
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 5:26 AM
If you go back and watch the first one, it’s actually crazy how many details that went unnoticed now click after ATSV.

ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 6/7/2023, 7:01 AM
@PlusUltra - The glitching 42 spider now takes on a whole new level.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 6/7/2023, 7:03 AM
I love the cameo we got. Because it is relevant to the movie at hand. Donald was, as we know, the original inspiration for Miles, so it's great to see him reprise his role as The Prowler.
It also foreshadows what we see in the end, because who knows if he was supposed to be the same character from the MCU or a version of the character we see in the cliffhanger.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/7/2023, 7:05 AM
Turns out this movie was made by people that think everyone needs a Spider-Man to represent themselves. They didn't like that some people rejected Miles when he was 1st introduced in the comics cause of fan's "reasons". Personally I fundamentally disagree with the idea that a character needs to represent the viewer or reader at all and I think it's insane when people can only enjoy things with characters that they identify with. I search out characters that are unlike me and so do most people in the history of the world.

Here's an interview they did...
https://twitter.com/UltimateMrB/status/1665858440672215040?s=20
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 8:42 AM
@WarMonkey - But it worked, so you might just be out of touch with what you think people want. Miles was a hit. So was Gwen, Miguel, Holbie and Pavitr. Representation within these characters is something that’s being openly embraced, whether that’s something you fundamentally agree with or not.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/7/2023, 8:58 AM
@PlusUltra - I find it crazy that people can only enjoy movies where the characters look and think like them. I go to movies to see variety and to see characters that are entertaining or interesting. So by definition that means characters unlike me. Such as for example I love Independence Day yet I am not a Black man or a Navy pilot and I can still enjoy it cause the main character had qualities that are attractive and something to inspire to. The viewing public are not superheroes so to think one can only enjoy them if the main character shares the same skin color, sex, sexuality, politics etc etc I do find to be insane and I will not be able to understand that.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/7/2023, 9:03 AM
@PlusUltra - Also I like Miguel and Gwen, I've seen the 1st movie probably like 6 times already since it came out, maybe more. Oh and one of my best friends since childhood is Indian and he didn't care for Pavitr at all and found him annoying yet I enjoyed him. I didn't like Spider-Punk at all though, he was freaking annoying for me. I judge them based on how entertaining, cool, or interesting they are not by their skin colors or gender.

Another example, I loved both of the shows Hercules and Xena and it wasn't cause of superficial crap, it was cause they were fun and interesting characters to follow for an hour every week.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 9:09 AM
@WarMonkey - I don’t think anybody said they can only enjoy movies with character that they can see themselves in, just that they enjoy those characters more. That’s why Spider-Man is the most successful superhero in the first place, because he’s relatable, and representation just leads to more relatability. People don’t need to see themselves in characters, but they’ll gravitate to those characters more because they want to.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/7/2023, 9:17 AM
@PlusUltra - Batman isn't relatable yet he's just as popular if not more so. (I actually don't know which is more popular but it helps my argument so I included that ha).

People need to start looking past judging characters by their skin color, gender and sexual preferences and start to see the qualities of the characters only IMHO.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 9:22 AM
@WarMonkey - Everyone enjoys characters that don’t look like them. But when it comes to superheroes, there’s never been that choice up until recently. I can relate to Peter, most people can, but I can relate to Miles more, not just because he looks like me, but more importantly due to the cultural similarities that comes with looking like me. It’s not that you need to see yourself in characters you love, it’s just pretty great when you do.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 9:29 AM
@WarMonkey - The basic concept of Batman is relatable. He’s human with no powers. It was the driving theme behind the TDK trilogy, that anybody could be Batman. That suspension of disbelief is the reason for which people look past the billionaire beneath the mask.

The trick has always been taking something unrealistic and finding a way to make it relatable to pull the audience in. With Batman, it’s his biology. With Spider-Man, it’s his lifestyle. Representation is just a way of widening the window of relatability.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/7/2023, 9:31 AM
@PlusUltra - "But the point is, when it comes to superheroes, I’ve never had to choice to up until recently. Now I can relate to Peter, most people can, but I can relate to Miles more, not just because he looks like me, but more importantly due to the cultural representation that comes with looking like me."

That's fair and a good point. I guess it just goes to how different people watch shows and movies. I don't look for those that represent me I go looking for characters that are quite different from me for the most part. Now I do love Kevin Smith's Clerk film universe cause those characters and stories actually do kinda represent my childhood of how I grew up in Jersey. But that's more for laughing at and feeling nostalgic over then feeling like those characters represent me at all. It's more like I could see myself growing up with similar people. I actually can't think of a single character ever I felt represents me and watched cause of that. But I do understand your point of view.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 6/7/2023, 9:52 AM
@WarMonkey - That’s what’s great about representation. The nostalgia, laughs, those feel good moments that might unlock a memory or remind you of yourself. It’s always been there, just not for most races and cultures. But there’s an open awareness of that now, which is why we’re getting that push in all corners of entertainment for more diversity. Some people see it as less for them, but really, it’s just more for everybody.
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 6/7/2023, 1:43 PM
@WarMonkey - The US is a melting pot, but if you divide people by White and Nonwhite like most people do white people are the minority. But American media mostly portrays America as white people.

Seeing someone who looks like you on tv makes you feel American, feel included in the conversation and culture. That's the reason we race swap. It's not to take white characters away from white people, it's to give nonwhite Americans more American heroes.

Props to you for talking about without attacking people by the way. There's too much of that on this site
Shivermetimbers
Shivermetimbers - 6/7/2023, 9:50 AM
That Donald Glover cameo didnt land in my theater. It seemed out of place. Only the true geeks understood why he was included.
Drace24
Drace24 - 6/7/2023, 4:26 PM
So you guys just forgot about the TASM moment?
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