Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse became an immediate success following the film's release back in 2018, as it would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. But that wasn't always the case. Writing and producing duo Chris Miller and Phil Lord recall the negative test reaction the film received.
Sony's Into the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he becomes the new Spider-Man and joins other Spider-People from alternate universes to save his own from the ruthless Kingpin (Leiv Schreiber). There have been an excessive amount of Spider-Man adaptations and numerous actors taking on the iconic role, so it seemed unlikely that an animated Spider-Man film not centered on Peter Parker would become successful. However, from its poignant story, engaging characters, to the vibrant yet trippy visuals that pop out of the screen, Into the Spider-Verse brought Spidey swinging back in a unique and stylish way with more heart than ever.
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Lord and Miller recalled the more challenging parts of making the Spider-Man film, and how there was one test screening in Arizona that did not resonate well with the audience. "Every single thing that we’ve done, we’ve had some screening midway through the production where we all looked each other going ‘We are screwed. We are absolutely screwed.’ Even Spider-Verse! We did an early test in Arizona, and it did not test well at all," the duo shared. Luckily, like any test screenings for an upcoming film, the pair took away some constructive criticism that allowed for the final cut of the film to come to fruition. "We made some adjustments, we figured out what people were bumping on, why they weren’t engaging with it, and you just keep working. It’s just a thing that evolves. The audience sort of tells you what it wants, and then you have to figure out the way to give what they don’t realize they want," they added.
"It is a case of just grinding, where you kinda go ‘I’m trying to sustain an audience’s engagement in this thing for as long as possible,' which means you have to sit there and watch it going like ‘Alright, those five seconds, those are great. The next five seconds, those are great.’ Then, something happens in my body like, the whole thing grinds to a halt, and I’m like ‘What? That was dumb.'" In terms of going back and breaking the film in small sections, it of course seemed like tedious work, but knowing what was presented on the big screen, the whole process was rewarding. Now, Lord and Miller look to create the best possible film again with the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part One.
Like its title implies, the film will follow Miles Morales/Spider-Man on an adventure across the multiverse with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) as they travel with a new team of Spider-People who are gearing up to face a new threat (most likely Oscar Isaac's Spider-Man 2099). While Lord and Miller will return to write and produce, the film will have three new directors in Joaquim Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Kemp Powers (writer for One Night in Miami and Pixar's Soul), and Justin K. Thompson (animation artist for films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs).
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is now streaming on Hulu and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Part One) will swing into theaters on October 7, 2022.
Source: Happy Sad Confused