As the film was released into theaters, both a sequel to and spin off from Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse had already been planned by Sony Pictures Animation. With those details confirmed, many have been curious as to what the plot would possibly entail and what Spider-Persons might be involved the next time around. Much excitement has revolved around speculation, with the extreme popularity of the film. If you have not done so yet, you can read our review of the animation spectacle here.
Phil Lord, half of filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, was a writer and producer on Into The Spider-Verse. He is known for his work with animated films such as Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and The Lego Movie as well as with his interactions with fans on Twitter. Among the numerous retweets of Into The Spider-Verse fan art and humorous replies to certain requests came an interesting gem.
As seen in the tweet above, a user seems hopeful for the inclusion of “Japanese Spider-Man” in the next Spider-Verse film. Lord responds to this by saying, “I will IF we cross 200 domestic. Deal everybody?” Even though this is probably a joke, it wouldn’t seem completely impossible with some of the references made in Spider-Verse such as to the 1960’s Bakshi Spider-Man cartoon. Whether a simple joke towards a piece of old popular culture, a call for bigger box office performance for Spider-Verse, or a serious deal made by Lord through a tweet, you may be scratching your head as to the reference.
“Japanese Spider-Man” refers to a Japanese live action television series and TV movie that aired in the late 1970’s. It was produced by Toei Company and was very loosely based on the original Spider-Man comics from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, featuring Spider-Man as a motocross racer who used a giant Japanese Mecha. This video of the show’s opening gives a good enough idea of its nature.
With the connection possible between fans and creators, it’s nice to see moviegoers able to connect with those involved with the creation of a film. Lord and his “confirmations” of including certain characters in the Spider-Verse sequel was not only with Japanese Spider-Man as he also jokingly guaranteed the appearance of internet meme “Spooder-man” in the next film.
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