Do You Need to Watch the Spider-Man Franchise Before Watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?

Are you unsure if you should watch the previous Spider-Man movies and cartoons before watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? With nine movies and eight cartoons, deciding which ones are essential to fully enjoy and comprehend the sequel’s plot to the critically acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse can be overwhelming. However, not all of them are necessary for a fulfilling viewing experience. Here’s everything you need to know about what you need to watch before watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

What Should You Watch Before Seeing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?

Watching the predecessor, Into the Spider-Verse, is recommended before seeing Across the Spider-Verse so you can fully appreciate it. This is because you’ll learn about the origin story of Miles Morales and meet additional characters, like Gwen Stacy, that will make their appearance in the sequel. Although the Spider-Verse movies reference the original trilogy and parts of other franchise installments, they are not essential to understanding and enjoying the storyline.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Miles Morales’ origin story is told in Into the Spider-Verse, providing us with a glimpse into his life before discovering alternate reality versions of himself in Spider-Verse. The film showcases Morales’ journey of learning about his powers, accepting them, and becoming his version of Spider-Man. Watching this title before Across the Spider-Verse is crucial since it’s a sequel that continues Morales’ story. Additionally, the post-credit scene of Into the Spider-Verse introduces Spider-man 2099/Miguel O’Hare, voiced by Oscar Isaac, who is expected to return in Across the Spider-Verse, transporting Morales to an alternate reality.

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In Across the Spider-Verse, Morales will team up with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off against a new villain. The writers and producers of the film, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, have confirmed in an interview at CinemaCon that there will be more than 240 character models, six different animation styles, and six different alternate realities in Across the Spider-Verse. However, Miller later went on to clarify on Twitter that most of those character models are minor background characters, and we will experience an intimate story between Morales and Stacy. This relationship is one of the most critical aspects of the animated franchise for you to understand, making the first film even more important to watch.