Daniel Kaluuya, who plays Hobie Brown (Spider-Punk), talks about the creation of the character and finding out a character easter egg. Although Kaluuya is an Oscar-winning actor from working in movies like Get Out, Nope, and Black Panther, he showed the most excitement and gratefulness for playing Hobie.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kaluuya reflects on his career. He says making a film and catering to that audience is one of the most critical aspects. Across the Spider-Verse was no different. Coming to play Hobie was a no-brainer because Kaluuya wanted to continue building on this universe and work with Chris Miller, Kemp Powers, and Phil Lord. That meant going in person to the studio and working on Hobie and his voice.
Kaluuya and his character Hobie are more similar than people may think. Both the character and Kaluuya are from Camden Town in North West London. This is a place where punk was born, according to Kaluuya. His performance took inspiration from the culture and the characters he grew up around. So, finding Hobie’s voice was Kaluuya’s voice.
Originally Hobie was a potential threat to Miles Morales as he had an intimate relationship with Gwen Stacy. However, Hobie becomes a hero by helping Miles escape from Miguel O’Hara. He also left his portal for Gwen to build her team to save Miles in the 2024 film Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Kaluuya states that Hobie being a nonconformist, has his motivations. ‘One of the reasons why Hobie was there was to have Gwen’s back. He wouldn’t be rolling around with the Spider Society otherwise. Hobie saw that rebellious spirit in Miles; he identified with him, and he wanted to support and help him. So Hobie knew that Miles would unravel the system or status quo within the Spider Society.’ Hobie being part of the Spider Society means caring for the people he connects with, and a lot of that is with Gwen. They have a real friendship, but no one knows how deep that is.
Donald Glover makes a live-action cameo as Aaron Davis (Prowler), set up from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Although it is unknown whether it is the same Prowler that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man met, Hobie did catch Glover’s Prowler. Kaluuya was thrilled to be part of this moment but did not realize this until watching the film.
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