The MCU wants Miles Morales — but it doesn’t deserve him

It was clear from the beginning that Sony and Marvel would interfere with the Spider-Verse films, even though they appear to be outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made his company’s ongoing push to keep Spidey in the MCU fold clear back in 2019, labeling the wall-crawler as “the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes.”

At first, Marvel Studios’ future plans for Spider-Man seemed to revolve solely around Tom Holland’s role as the character. As Miles Morales told Spider-Man 2099, the future plans for Spider-Man seemed to revolve solely around Tom Holland’s role as the character. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, he’d rather do his own thing. In an IP-driven world, however, his freedom from the idiosyncratic norms of superhero movies wasn’t bound to last forever. Amy Pascal, the producer of The Avengers told Variety before its release. Across the Spider-Verse’s release, a live-action Miles Morales movie is already in the works. And that’s a problem, because the MCU doesn’t deserve Miles Morales.

Creative teams are often tasked with the task of orchestrating or coordinating the next spin-off in an age of corporate crossovers. DC can’t escape Batman, and Star Wars can’t part ways with the Skywalkers. Studios force nostalgia onto their audiences through CGI recreations of actors, and deepfake voice.

Into the Spider-VerseInitially, the company-connections machine was not involved in this independent venture. The team behind Across the Spider-Verse wasn’t lucky enough to escape the crossover curse. In a vacuum, that movie’s cameos can be seen as welcoming jokes for fans, and a tribute to Spider-Man’s media longevity. But when you look at the plans Marvel Studios (and the Walt Disney Company) are laying out for the next few years, these references are a worrying reality check about where Miles Morales could fit into the cinematic conglomerate — and the identity his story could lose in the process.

Kadir Nelson/Marvel Comics

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.]

The Days Before Across the Spider-Verse’s premiere, Sony released a promotional reelThe live-action versions of Spider-Man culminate with Into the Spider-VerseICYMI. The promotional artwork leading the reel is most notable, featuring Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moor, alongside Tobey McGuire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland.

As funny (and somewhat harrowing) as it is to see the animated character standing with the actors, it seems he won’t always be the odd man out. The plans for a live-action Miles Morales movie are less surprising after seeing Donald Glover’s live-action cameo as Prowler in Across the Spider-Verse — his second reference to the character, since he originally appeared as a subtle Aaron Davis in 2017’s Spider-Man Homecoming. In Across the Spider-Verse, he’s trapped inside the supervillain sector of the Spider-Man Society HQ, wearing the Prowler suit. While most of the movie’s cameos are blink-and-you’ll-miss-it brief, there’s a sustained pause around his presence, and he gets a few more seconds of screen time in a later scene.

Glover’s appearance in the film is a nod that extends beyond an MCU tie-in: Glover previously voiced Miles Morales in two episodes of the Ultimate Spider-Man series. That’s typical for Across the Spider-VerseIt references the history of superheroes in various ways. Scenes from Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man films also get their own screen time, albeit in a much subtler manner. Glover’s cameo, however, lands as a heavy-handed directive. You don’t need a Spider-Sense to realize that the animated Spider-Verse isn’t solely paying tributes to Spider-Man’s legacy any more — it’s also promoting future IP crossovers.

Over the years, the purpose behind these types of cameos changed. Michael Keaton’s Vulture glided over from Spider-Man Homecoming to Morbius’ universe. Venom and Insurgence movies have cameos. Spider-Man: The No Way Back are a viable reference point, the still-in-negotiations next Tom Holland Spider-Man film will likely pit Holland’s version of Peter Parker against Tom Hardy’s rendition of the character’s longtime rival. Insomniac Games feeds from this corporate ecosystem of licenses. Spider-Man: Miles MoralesThe Prowler was one of the main antagonists in this game. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, slated for release later in 2023, features not just Venom, but also Kraven as part of its cast of villains — paving the way for the character’s stand-alone Kraven the Hunter movie.

Image: Sony Pictures

Since then, a lot of things have happened. Into the Spider-VersePremiered in 2018 Spider-Man: The No Way BackYou can also find out more about the following: Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of MadnessThe idea to showcase alternative universes as live-action films or shows has been tried and tested with mixed results. But as those crossovers have become more frequent, they’ve become increasingly corporate — and increasingly about flattening out idiosyncratic projects like the Venom movies so they can join a franchise already in progress.

Into the Spider-VerseReimagined Spider-Man as a movie character. With the exception of a few comical callbacks it was a standout among its live action arachnid brothers. Miles Morales’ origin story was brought to the forefront for the very first time. It is a colorful, creative, and inventive adaptation of the source material. The character’s writing embraced this ethos, too, delivering a story that breaks and mocks past foundations with a distinct playful spirit.

This is part of the style. The Verge conducted an interview. Into the Spider-Verse co-director Rodney Rothman said that one nice thing about telling Miles’ story in animation is that “there isn’t a point of disbelief for the audience.” In spite of numerous examples of live-action movies using comics-inspired stylization — see Scott Pilgrim Vs. The WorldYou can also find out more about Sin City — the obsession with “realism” in fantasy continues to trump any attempts at visual personality in the MCU. Directors’ creative leeway is dependent on the setting of the movie, or the powers of the characters that inhabit it.

Into the Spider-Verse doesn’t just take a story from existing comics — it brings the comics to life, pushing the cinematic medium to new levels of stylization in everything from textures to on-screen text to scene transitions. Disney is committed to using live-action versions of the classics, but they are removing the original essence. The Lion Kingdom. Into the Spider-Verse The animators understood the importance of this medium. It was a source of inspiration and a licence to try out new styles. This same freedom is reflected in Across the Spider-Verse — not just in its visual feast of art styles, but in its story’s message.

Image: Sony Pictures

“Don’t do it like me, do it like you,” Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) tells Miles in Into the Spider-Verse. Peter Parker, after all, has been the center of attention in films for over two decades. The following are some of the ways to get in touch with us the crescendo building up to the movie’s final minutes, Miles passes that idea along to the audience, telling them anyone can wear the mask. That sentiment resonated with animators, but also with fans, who enjoyed the opportunity to see themselves in Spider-Man’s role.

In Across the Spider-Verse, this freedom extends to Miles’ adamant stance of breaking from the Spider-Man canon thrust upon him. He defies Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and his insistence on accepting the imposed tragedies of being Spider-Man. Morales’ story is a living repudiation of the canon. It was his origin story that allowed him to be with Spider-People, who understood the sacrifices and hardships involved in the job. In his latest movie, he’s determined to challenge tradition once more, going against the trademark character arc.

But the MCU’s imprint is all too clear in movie after movie, and it’s unlikely that that idiosyncratic spirit could carry over to a live-action treatment. While there’s a cultural importance to Miles — a mixed-race kid with a complicated heritage — coming to live-action, it’s hard to imagine the character being allowed to spread his wings as part of the MCU the way he does in the Spider-Verse movies. An MCU movie isn’t going to let the soundtrack take over, showcasing otherwise silent scenes between characters. It isn’t going to let art styles converge and collide on screen. It isn’t going to include a Lego universe crossover. The animated Miles will be placed on comic books on nightstands or in newsstands, and he’ll make a brief cameo after the credits.

Marvel Studios just doesn’t let its live-action films do anything completely idiosyncratic, and directors who try — like original Ant-Man writer-director Edgar Wright — get the boot, or “part ways with the studio over creative differences.” As Wright told Variety in 2017, Marvel wanted to rewrite his script without his involvement. “Suddenly becoming a director for hire on it, you’re sort of less emotionally invested and you start to wonder why you’re there, really,” he said. Scott Derrickson also left the production. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness due to “creative differences,” with Ava DuVernay (Black Panther), Bassam Tariq (BladeJon Watts,Fantastic FourFollowing suit.

The drivers behind the MCU want history to repeat itself, pushing for yet another origin story for Miles Morales as Spider-Man — only this time, the substance and heart of the comics will be muddled in realism and a more rigid script. The Inthe Spider-Verse films, Miles Morales’ perspective and surroundings establish a radical difference from the start. He isn’t funded by a billionaire, like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man; he gets lessons from a grown-up, too-old-for-this-shit depiction of Peter Parker, who doesn’t impose his own traditions onto him. And he shares lead status with Gwen Stacy — something MCU movies are notably bad at doing.

What is more alarming, however, is that the animations will lose their essence. Miles Morales – an Afro-Latino high school sophomore – is determined to make a difference in Brooklyn and the surrounding community. He leaves his mark with each step. Far subtler but equally meaningful differences, such as the “Protect Trans Kids” flag in Gwen’s bedroom, seem inconceivable in the MCU, which took more than a decade to feature a minimal kiss from a gay couple on screen. While even the Spider-Verse films come with some restraints — like failing to discuss Spider-Man’s involvement with the police, a topic Insomniac’s game also distances itself from — the films are solidly based in current culture, and portray Miles accordingly. Even as a story tangled up with so many alternate universes, it’s the most grounded of all of them, and the characters resonate much louder as result.

Across the Spider-VerseThe MCU has repeatedly challenged conventions in its movies. Spider-Verse has already broken the MCU canon, but the filmmakers are determined to do so again. The MCU, on the other hand, is only likely to strip away Miles’ personality and identity in the process of moving him to live action. Miles Morales & Gwen Stacy in every other alternate universe are trapped by a net of standardization. Forced to conform to MCU’s mold, they must mimic previous box-office success instead of creating their own. I’d rather be in the universe where the Spider-Verse team manages to defy that fate as well.