Daniel Kaluuya, who played Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, reflected on what it was like to be involved with the production and his character's relationship with the film's main character, Miles Morales.
Kaluuya talked about how he desired to be involved and what they did to make his Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse character stand out. On top of that, he talked about Brown's rapport with Morales as a Spider-Man who was so unique to the overall Spider-Verse.
Kaluuya admitted his interest in participating in the Spider-Man franchise in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I really wanted to be involved in it. It was just about building the character with Kemp [Powers], Chris [Miller] and Phil [Lord], and then making that work. But yeah, I really wanted to be involved, and the character they had drawn out for me was just so clear and so distinct," Kaluuya said. He then elaborated on why Brown connected with Morales. "He saw that Miles does what’s right no matter what, especially in that [Mumbattan] sequence. Hobie saw that it pissed people off, and he kind of liked that. Miles also didn’t back down. He didn’t apologize for doing what he did. He was like, 'Nah, I wanna do this. I’m gonna keep on doing this.' So Hobie saw that rebellious spirit. He identified with him, and he wanted to support and help him. He looked at him and thought, 'This kid is alright,' after he probably heard certain things about him. So Hobie knew that Miles would unravel the system or the status quo within the Spider Society."
Brown's influence helped Morales escape the grasp of Oscar Isacc's Miguel O'Hara and the other Spider-Mans in the Spider-Verse in two key ways. One, he let Morales know that he was on his side on the matter, even saying that his not helping the situation was "good" before Morales rebelled. Two, he reminded Miles that his powers with electricity can help him break free of the prison O'Hara had put him in. Best of all, the movie's last scene had Brown among the Spider-Mans who planned to go to Earth-42 to help Morales. Whether that's to get him out of the wrong dimension and/or help save his dad is anyone's guess, but Brown was truly Team Miles.
While Brown may have been added for the act of fanservice to the diehard Spider-Man fans, his role in the film demonstrated that Miles might not be the anomaly others told him he was. While O'Hara said that messing with the canon events will destroy the fabric of Miles' reality, much like it did when O'Hara messed with an alternate dimension, Brown still sided with Miles on the matter, believing that choosing not to save someone when you have the chance is not heroism.
The real question will be whether they are right on the matter, and all signs are pointing to Miles and the other Spider-Mans trying to save Jefferson Davis in Miles' world before his inevitable death. Of course, they also have to free Miles from the alternate reality he's in, so that could be a whole other issue on its own. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse technically didn't have a climax, but that's because it served as the first half of what is shaping up to be one epic duology.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter