Highlights
- Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse may face further delays, even if the actors' strike is resolved quickly. Sony split the film into two parts to avoid a long wait, but animation backup seems to be the main cause of the delay.
- Sony knew about the delay as early as December 2022, suggesting that fans might not see the film until 2025. A new release date has not been announced, leaving fans in the dark.
- Working conditions for animators during Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were chaotic, potentially contributing to the delays. Fans will have to wait longer for answers about the cliffhanger ending and the next installment of the franchise.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse may be further delayed even if the actors’ strike is resolved quickly.
When Sony was producing the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse​​​​​​, they split it into two parts, Across the Spider-Verse and Beyond the Spider-Verse. The hope was that they could work on both simultaneously and not have a long wait between the second and third installments of the franchise. After Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had been delayed multiple times, fans were doubtful that Sony could deliver Beyond the Spider-Verse less than a year after Across the Spider-Verse's release.
Recently, Sony delayed multiple upcoming projects due to the ongoing actors’ strike because even though filming is done, the actors will not be able to promote the films. Sony did not change the release date for Beyond the Spider-Verse, but they did pull it from its initial release date, possibly delaying it indefinitely. A report by Can We Get Some Toast says the delay is not because of the strikes; it's due to a backup in animation.
Can We Get Some Toast also reported that Sony knew the film would be delayed as early as December 2022. It seems unlikely that fans will get Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2025. Can We Get Some Toast replied to someone saying, “Honestly I wouldn’t hold my breath for 2025.” Fans will have to wait until Sony announces a new release date for the film, but the fact that they haven’t yet does not bode well.
Shortly after the film's release, reports claimed the working conditions for Spider-Man:Across the Spider-Verse animators were chaotic. Animators said Phil Lord scrapped approved work, forcing them to start many sequences from scratch. The producers responded to these allegations by saying that those practices are common in animation. However, fans seem to believe these working conditions most likely resulted in delays for the second film and now the third.
Fans must wait longer to get answers about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's cliffhanger ending. Even if the strike ends soon, it could be unlikely that the film's animation will be finished in time. However, without an update from Sony about the release schedule for Beyond the Spider-Verse, fans will be left in the dark for a while.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse does not have a new release date yet.
Source: Can We Get Some Toast/Twitter