“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Sequel Reveals New Directing Trio
The critical and commercial smash that was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved that you can do some very special things with a trio of directors. Those fellas: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman won themselves an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, and now they’ll be passing off the web-based baton to a new trio of helmers. Enter Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.
It wasn’t that long ago when we interviewed Kemp Powers, who is on a serious hot streak at the moment. Powers is nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing Regina King’s excellent One Night In Miami, and he also co-directed Soul, nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. Thompson, making his feature film debut here, knows the Spider-Verse world cold—he was Annie Award-winning production designer on the first film. Dos Santos, also making his feature debut, helmed episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Justice League Unlimited, and The Legend of Korra. So the man has the chops, too.
“The crew behind the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse set such a ridiculously high bar, and we’re humbled to take on the challenge of charting the next chapter in the story of Miles Morales,” the trio said in a statement.
The new directors will be working off a script from David Callaham (who wrote the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and original Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Here’s what Lord and Miller had to say about their new directors:
“We are so lucky to have Joaquim, Justin, and Kemp on the Spider-Verse team. We are huge fans of Joaquim’s work — he makes his characters so heartfelt and unique, and he can tell an emotional story with an action sequence the way a musical does through a song. Justin is a maverick filmmaker who relentlessly pursues visual innovation and surprise but always in support of the emotional storytelling. Kemp’s work is incisive and ambitious and funny — with a writer’s wisdom and a director’s heart — he just knows what matters in every scene. All three of them elevate every project they take on, and they are certainly raising our game. We honestly just like them and want to be their friends and we’re hoping working on this movie together for the next few years will totally make that happen.”
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is due to hit theaters on October 7, 2022.
Featured image: Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as Spider-Man in Sony Pictures Animation’s SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. PHOTO BY: Sony Pictures Animation
