Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has a bit of new info to reveal about a fresh face in the cast this time around. Not only will the new film feature Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman, but she'll have a significant connection to returning hero Gwen Stacy. Plus, audiences might be pleased to discover how faithful the movie version of her character will be to the comics.
While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse focused on Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) becoming Spider-Man, the follow-up will broaden its horizons a bit. Miles will remain front and center, of course, but now he'll be joined by a new set of Spider-People along with some returning faces like Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld). On that note, while Gwen served in a bit of a mentor role in Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse will reportedly see her view newcomer Jessica Drew in a similar light.
In an afterparty video following the release of the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer, the film's creators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller joined Steinfeld to discuss the sequel and offer a bit of new info. The video, posted by Sony Pictures Entertainment, shed a little more light on just who Jessica Drew will be to the rest of the team. "What's cool about Gwen is that she has a special relationship with Jess because she sees her as a potential mentor, someone who seems to have it all figured out, but learns ultimately, it's hard," Miller said, suggesting that Gwen's more calm and confident nature in the first movie may not be entirely who she is deep down.
"She's amazing," Steinfeld added, "and she, in this film, from what I've seen, the little that I've seen… [she's] beyond." But Jessica's relationship with Gwen doesn't entirely define her character. Played by Insecure star and creator Issa Rae, the character will also retain a particular element lifted directly from her comic book appearances. "You may notice that she is pregnant," Miller noted, "which is based on a run of the comics where she was pregnant during the Secret Wars."
This is an interesting development, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently building towards its own Secret Wars adaptation. But since Sony's Spider-Verse movies are technically separate from the Marvel Studios entries, it looks like audiences may get to enjoy several different interpretations of the same source material. Plus, given how both continuities are now fully immersed in the idea of the Multiverse, there's always the possibility of a crossover, at least assuming the studios themselves want to play ball.
Along with the previously mentioned characters, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will also feature Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker/Spider-Man, Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk, and Jason Schwartzman as supervillain Jonathan Ohnn/The Spot. That's not even mentioning the huge slew of cameos and bit parts that fans can expect as Miles and his friends travel through the Multiverse. So there's definitely a lot to look forward to here.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will release in theaters on June 2nd, 2023.
