Over the past few years, the Spider-Man brand has been seeing a resurgence in pop culture across multiple fronts. Tom Holland has perhaps nailed Peter Parker's mannerisms from the comics, and his surprise leap into the MCU was a catalyst for revitalizing the character in live-action film, but audiences also received two stellar video games from Insomniac, as well as the crème de la crème of the web-slinging brand to date in the form of the astonishing Into the Spider-Verse animated film. Even the live-action movies seem poised to ride off the success and legacy which Sony's animated movie took a leap of faith into. Holland's third film in the series appears to be bringing back past Peter Parkers, seemingly collecting the stars of all three major motion picture versions of Spider-Man to date into what sounds like it could be a comical, big-budget adventure mish-mashing them together.
Across an entire series of films, the franchise has its fair share of quirks, memes, and references, and this upcoming movie will likely pull that all in. But despite the excitement fans of the series might have, there is one very large, important element missing from what has been shown so far: Miles Morales. It's quite possible that his appearance in such a multi-verse premise film is being kept under wraps. In fact, if he is going to show up in any form, it's very likely the studios involved would want to keep that under lock and key, much like Tom Holland's debut into the MCU went down. Either way, it feels a bit criminal to see the prospect of a live-action take on what Into the Spider-Verse pulled off...but using entirely just Peter Parker copies.
Especially pronounced now that Insomniac's Miles got to function as the big-budget star to ring in the PS5's launch holiday, the distinctly not-Peter version of Spider-Man has made it abundantly clear that audiences want to see more people wear the mask, wondering if the spin-off game might receive DLC like Peter's did. It would be a bit insulting to have Miles not appear in the first live-action film bringing universes together - especially given that he was the character that likely inspired the concept in the first place, or at least proved it was viable.
Under the assumption that Miles has been too well-developed and prominent in the past couple years to get ignored while older, less relevant takes on Peter are given the spotlight, there are two main ways Miles could be incorporated into this upcoming film. Changes have been made from his comic book origins in other appearances lately, but there are always more details and materials to draw from if desired - though it's perfectly fine to keep pursuing remixed and new ideas.
Firstly, they could straight up pull what Avengers: Civil War did and skip the already established backstory seen multiple times. They could simply throw in a new, live-action adaptation of Miles, trusting audiences know about the character enough to get on with things - after all, if the main highlight of the film is referencing and pulling together multiple previous Spider-People, what's the harm in mixing in one already more-or-less established in popular culture recently?
Fans of the modern icon that is Miles Morales - who represents a lot more and means much more to so many now - could get to see him come to life alongside other well-known actors in a high budget MCU film, and those who don't yet know the character somehow would likely get intrigued. While even a brand as big as the Avengers can flop hard with critics and fans, Miles has managed to steer clear of this so far. This could easily accomplish what Civil War did in setting up the groundwork for another spinoff film focused on yet another Spider-Man. And that could be all well and good. But there's another option here which, frankly, is more exciting and in many ways would make more sense.
Into the Spider-Verse was the mainstream masterpiece that is very likely the inspiration for this concept even coming to fruition. It's also a Sony movie, and working in this version of Miles Morales would do so much all at once. Even Insomniac's game recognized the movie's influence by including a suit complete with animation style. Furthermore, such an appearance could help foreshadow whatever is next. It could also tidily bring in Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, which feels sorely needed given what looks to be a full-on Peter Parker parade.
Even if it's just Miles, and even if it's just a cameo, this kind of thing would add an extra 'oomph' to the movie. An unexpected but totally appropriate kick in the pants to remind the audience of just what an event it all is. And if they really wanted to go full-on, add in a nod to the Insomniac games, too. It would make such a movie feel like a celebration of the Spider-Man brand in the modern era.
With so many actors from the movie series' history slated to show up, this movie could well become too bloated for its own good - after all, part of what makes Into the Spider-Verse so keen is its laser focus on Miles Morales despite all of the chaos going on. But this movie seems to be setting itself up to be an Avengers like cinematic event more than a typical narrative, and there's a time and place for that - or, in this case, multiple times across multiple spaces. Miles Morales has earned a part of that, even just off the past two years alone.