Spider-Man is a popular Marvel comic book character that has captured the hearts of many fans from the page to the big screen. The character has been portrayed in various films over the last 20 years, and with each movie bringing something different to the table. We’ll run through everything you need to know to get you ready for the upcoming release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, plus our ranking of the best Spider-Man movies to date.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Release Date
Before Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won an Academy Award, it had significant buzz surrounding it. And by the end of November 2018, just ahead of its release, Sony Pictures Animation had already begun development on a sequel to the film.
And now, it’s finally here! Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled for release in the United States on June 2, 2023, delayed from an initial October 2022 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Cast
Across the Spider-Verse will feature many of the familiar faces (or better put, voices) fans loved from the first film, including Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker.
Also joining the star-studded cast is Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Shea Whigham, and former SNL/Lonely Island stars Andy Samberg, Rachel Dratch, and Jorma Taccone.
What is the Plot of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?
Miles Morales returns as Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
The Best Spider-Man Movies to Date
With so many Spideys across the “Spider-Verse,” it can be easy to forget all the truly classic iterations of the character on the big screen over the last 20 years. Let’s take a run-through Hollywood.com’s rankings of the best Spider-Man movies!
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Released on May 4, 2007, Spider-Man 3 is the final installment in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. The movie stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco as Harry Osborn/New Goblin.
The plot follows Peter Parker as he faces a new threat in the form of the symbiote, a black substance that gives him enhanced strength and aggression but also changes his personality. He also has to deal with the return of his former friend, Harry Osborn, who is seeking revenge for his father’s death.
Despite a compelling cast of characters and all-star cast (see Topher Grace as Venom, Thomas Haden Church as Sandman, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy), we just can’t excuse the “evil” Peter Parker montage and cringey Jazz club scene.
Bonus points for checking out Tom Hardy’s Venom double-feature, not included on this list!
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is director Marc Webb’s sequel to 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man and stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, and Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro.
The plot follows Peter Parker as he faces a new threat in the form of Electro, a man who gains the ability to control electricity after an accident at Oscorp Industries. He also has to deal with the return of his childhood friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), who has become the Green Goblin.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man was the first reboot of the Spider-Man franchise after Sam Raimi’s trilogy, prior to Sony giving up the rights of the character to officially enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Starring Garfield, Stone, Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, Denis Leary as Captain Stacy, and featuring Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Directed by Marc Webb, the plot follows Peter Parker as he discovers his late father’s research, which leads him to Oscorp Industries and Dr. Curt Connors. Connors is a scientist who is working on regenerating his lost arm using reptilian DNA, but the experiment goes wrong, and he transforms into the Lizard.
A fun entry for the character, and Garfield and Stone bring a lot to the table here. But ultimately, the convoluted story and messiness surrounding Spider-Man’s official entry to the MCU leave the “Amazing” movies lower on our list.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
The second film in Tom Holland’s current run as the titular hero finds Peter Parker, you guessed it, far from his home of New York City. While relaxing on a European vacation, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury arrives unexpectedly to recruit the young Avenger for a mission. The world is in danger as four massive elemental creatures emerge from a hole torn in the universe. Peter must suit up once again and join Jake Gyllenhaal’s to stop the evil entities from wreaking havoc across the continent.
While it was a solid addition to the MCU version of Spider-Man, and further grows Holland’s character development, Far From Home ultimately feels like another somewhat run of the mill Marvel film for the collection.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to feature the titular character (outside of a brief appearance and introduction in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War). The movie stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture, Zendaya as MJ, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, and ties in Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan along with Jackson as Nick Fury.
A fun, new start for everyone’s favorite web-slinger, the film was refreshing in its ability to root the character as a real high school student (rather than the more adult-themed Maguire films), and the friendships between Parker, MJ, and Ned (Jacob Batalon) feel authentic. Homecoming also skips over the origin story entirely, giving it way more of a runway to build on past and future MCU additions.
Spider-Man (2002)
Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn, and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Spider-Man truly started it all.
Years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe and comic book adaptations in general dominated the box office, Spider-Man was truly one of the first large scale superhero films outside of Tim Burton‘s Batman films. It’s hard to overstate how this film shaped the next twenty years of filmmaking, and for that reason it finds itself high on our list. Not to mention its practical effects still hold up pretty great!
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
With all of the confusion of three different actors playing the character, studio rights, and multiple franchise reboots, Spider-Man: No Way Home manages to tie it all together like a web-slinging bandaid. Simultaneously advancing the MCU and placing Holland at its center after Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man exit, the film also connects heroes and villains from across the twenty year film franchise (including Garfield, Maguire, Dafoe, Foxx, and Alfred Molina), expanding the ideas and possibilities of what the Multiverse can hold for the future of the MCU films.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2 is a sequel to the 2002 original, also directed by Sam Raimi with Maguire, Dunst, and Franco returning as well as introuding Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus.
Arguably one of the best sequels of all time, the plot follows Peter Parker as he struggles to balance his life as Spider-Man with his personal goals and aspirations. It perfectly ups the stakes of the first film while delving deeper into the character development.
While you can easily swap this film with either of the previous two on our list, the improved action sequences and depth of performance push it just ahead for us. Call it an “Empire ‘Slings’ Back” syndrome.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
It’s hard not to top our list of the best Spider-Man movies with an Academy Award winner, especially one as awesome as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film finds fan-favorite Miles Morales (first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2011) becoming the Spider-Man of his universe and eventually joining other spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
Starring Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Chris Pine, Haille Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Zoë Kravitz, Brian Tyree Henry, and Lily Tomlin, Into the Spider-Verse was praised for its strikingly creative animation style and bold, poignant storytelling.
Did we get it right? Are your spidey-senses teeming with anger, or are you just as excited as we are to see the next installment in the Spider-Verse saga?
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