It didn’t take long to notice that Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse had a few changes between its theatrical and digital releases. Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller finally reveal why the two versions are different.
Even while the film was in theaters, fans noticed that different viewings of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse had subtle changes in scenes, dialogue and blocking. These changes only became more apparent when the film was released digitally, revealing even more differences. According to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, these changes were purposefully made by the animation team to try to improve the film during translation:
“There was an international version that was made almost two months before the movie came out because it had to be translated into different languages and these French censors have to decide what the rating of the movie is in Europe,” Miller told Games Radar. “The team at [Sony Pictures] Imageworks still had some shots that they felt they could do better for the finished version. So, they cleaned up and tweaked those things.”
“Certain crew members – people in the sound department or on the animation team – were like, ‘Oh, could we do this instead?’” he continued. “Let’s do the best possible version we can. Because it’s a multiverse movie, it’s like there’s a multiverse of the movie – that was really the reasoning behind it.”
While continuing to tweak the movie up until release certainly sounds noble coming from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, others would point out this mindset directly led to the “crunch” period where animators were overworked prior to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s release. It also reignites the debate on “patching” films, or making significant changes to them post-release. While there’s no answer to either of these debates, they’re certain to come back once more when Beyond the Spider-Verse releases.
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson from a screenplay written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Dave Callaham, Across The Spider-Verse also features the voice talents of Jake Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jason Schwartzman, Rachel Dratch, Shea Whigham and Jorma Taccone. Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Christina Steinberg are producing the upcoming movie alongside Lord and Miller, who also worked on its predecessor.
The Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse synopsis reads as follows: “Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga… After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.”
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