Summary
If there’s one movie that could give heart attacks to every movie trivia buff out there, it’sSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. By its very nature, the film is filled with cameos and references. So it stands to reason that the folks behind it had some fun with the process, and it seems like they all have their favorite moments.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis a movie so jam-packed full of compressed cameos that it even had tocut a few Spider-Man variants. It mainly follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). But this animated feast for the hungry eyes shines in its nearly countless cutaways and Easter eggs showcasing tons of classic (and often hilarious) Spider-based hero variants. From callbacks to beloved fan favorites like Spider-Punk to an actual literal Spider-car, the movie has enough to make every audience member find something to point to and go, “wait what?” That includes the directors.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versedirectors Joaquim dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson recently revealed some of their favorite cameos and Easter eggs from the film in a new video shared onCollider’s X account. It features plenty of what fans might expect, including more easily-noticed cameos like the overly broody Scarlet Spider (voiced hilariously by Andy Samberg) and the cameos by Yuri Lowenthal as the hero from Insomniac’sSpider-Mangame on PS4 and Donald Glover as a live-action Prowler. But hearing these thoughts from those who brought this visual smorgasbord to theaters is cool.
The Scarlet Spider mention came from dos Santos to start the video. But things quickly get even more delightfully bizarre when Powers chimes in with his affinity for Web-Slinger, the old West-style Spider-Man voiced by Taran Killam and riding atop a horse (who also has spider powers). While there’s no mention of theLEGO portion ofAcross the Spider-Verse, a similarly blocky hero gets brought up when visual effects supervisor Mike Lasker talks about The Bombastic Bag Man (he wears a bag on his head if the name is too subtle). This is one of the many cameos viewers will likely miss, as the comedic hero only appears briefly.
Another that likely flew by audiences without much notice is Spider-Woman Canada, whose whole deal should be self-explanatory. Production designer Patrick O’Keefe shared this hockey-loving icon of the north. Meanwhile,Spider-Verseproducers Phil Lord and Chris Millerhad their offering to give, namely an actual original character named Metro Spider-Man. Seen telling Miles there’s nowhere to run before Miles jumps out a window, this character was actually inspired and voiced by record producer Metro Boomin, who worked on the soundtrack forAcross the Spider-Verse.
Finally, Thompson gives a shout-out to Spider-Buggy, the aforementioned Spider-car. While villain The Spot had some hilarious moments (with oneSpider-Versefan even creating a functioning Spot cosplay), he’s got nothing on the absurdity of a car made for a hero who effortlessly gets around faster without one. Just one of the many testaments to how a movie can be wacky to the max while also maintaining some genuinely serious and heartfelt storytelling. TheSpider-Versemovies have that idea nailed, and the folks who made it know how to have fun while creating their masterpieces.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis available to buy digitally on Amazon Prime, with a physical version set to release September 5th.
