Into the Spider-Verse is one of the most critically acclaimed super-hero movies of all time, with the film even taking home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. The animated feature is a cross-dimensional super-hero tale that follows Miles Morales in his first on-screen adventure.
In addition to Miles Morales' Spider-Man, the film also includes several other versions of the web-head, including Peter B. Parker, Spider-Gwen, and Spider-Ham.
Stan Lee's Final Voice Acting Role
Stan Lee is one of the godfathers of the comic book industry. Along with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, the Marvel Comics supremo created iconic characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Hull (to name but a few).
Stan Lee always made a cameo appearance in Marvel movies and, unfortunately, his appearance in Into the Spider-Verse would ultimately be Lee's final voice acting role after his death in 2018.
Stan Lee Is On Every Train
As said in the above entry, Stan Lee was famous for his cameos and always loved to feature in Marvel movies, regardless of how small the cameo would ultimately be. However, due to the iconic status of his cameos, almost every animator working on the film wanted a chance to animate Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics legend has several secret cameos.
As the above tweet shows, Stan Lee appears several times throughout the movie, usually in trains, though he can be seen in some crowd scenes as well.
Miles' Dad Worked For S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the most important organizations in the Marvel universe, with the group responsible (at least in the MCU) for bringing the Avengers together. The group is made of, essentially, secret agents who operate under the command of Nick Fury and protect the Earth from threats.
What is surprising to learn is that the reason why Miles Morales goes by his Mother's surname in the movie is that (according to comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis) his father was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and wanted to protect his son.
Community Is Playing On A TV
One of the more interesting aspects of the film is how it addresses and pays homage to pop culture. Despite existing in a different universe, there are several subtle nods to popular culture in the real world. One of the more interesting nods is how Community is seen playing on a TV during the film.
This is interesting as, not only has Donald Glover voiced Miles Morales before, but the Community scene in the film inspired the creation of the Miles Morales character.
Shaun Of The Dead Sequel
As per the above entry, despite existing in a parallel universe, Into the Spider-Verse pays homage to several pop culture properties that exist in the real universe. Throughout the movie, several ments can be seen for either new or old movies released in Morales' universe.
One of the more interesting movie ments is the sequel to the classic Edgar Wright zombie movie Shaun of the Dead, with the sequel going by the name 'From Dusk Til' Shaun'.
Visual Style
One of the most unique elements of the movie was its visually stunning and unique art style. The movie was notoriously difficult to animate, with Sony Animation using over 180 animators on the project - the highest crew used so far on a Sony Animated Pictures project.
The animation style unique to the film is inspired by the comic book origin of the character, with animators trying to replicate the style of a comic book.
Shameik Moore's Diary
According to co-director Rodney Rotham, the actor who voiced Miles Morales, Shameik Moore, inspired much of the character surrounding Miles Morales, with the animators animating Moore's full performances in the role, rather than just using his voice.
However, some would argue that Moore was destined to play the role of Spider-Man. In his childhood diary, Moore wrote that one day he would play Spider-Man!
Peni's Inspiration
Into the Spider-Verse is known for introducing several different 'spider' powered heroes from different universes or dimensions. In addition to the unique characters of these spider heroes, some of them even had their own animation style, with Spider-Man Noir being the clearest example of this.
However, Peni Parker also had her own unique animation style. The animators behind Peni Parker were inspired by the Sailor Moon anime when animating the character.
Air Jordan Sneakers
It's not unusual for a movie hero to have their own costume sold in stores. Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man costumes are incredibly popular, particularly after the release of their movies.
However, very rarely can you actually wear a heroes costume (or part of it) in everyday life - it isn't exactly socially acceptable to wear a Batman mask to the store. However, Nike released a new edition of their Air Jordan series called 'Origin Story' for Miles Morales to wear in the movie and they're available to buy.
2014 Sony Hack
Leaks are becoming a common part of the movie production process. Due to the advent of the internet, it is incredibly difficult to create and release a movie without various scenes and plot information being leaked to the public, usually via photos of the set.
Rather than a photo on a set, however, the Into the Spider-Verse project was leaked as a result of the infamous Sony Pictures Hack of 2014.
