Sorry, your Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse fan theories are ‘way off base’
Exclusive: ‘The majority of them are so wrong’
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s directors are having a good time reading all of your fan theories about the forthcoming movie. Unfortunately for you, though, most of them are “way off base”.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar during a long lead press day ahead the nextSpider-Manfilm’s launch, Kemp Powers and Joaquim Dos Santos confirmed they were yet to see a fan theory that was close to being right.
Given the secrecy surroundingSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s plot, it’s understandable why that would be the case. Even so, some movie and TV show lovers – particularly those who frequent rumor-filled forums like Reddit – have accurately guessed certain plot points about forthcoming films or TV series. A case in point isThe Mandalorianseason 3, which recently finished airing onDisney Plus– director/executive producer Rick Famuyiwa exclusively telling TechRadar that someStar Warsfans had correctly guessed the direction of this season’s narrative.
Powers and Dos Santos, though, say the same cannot be said ofAcross the Spider-Verse. In fact, of all the fan speculation that the duo has read online, around “90 percent” of it is completely wrong.
“I’ve not [been] on social media much,” Powers said. “But the theories I’ve seen, I have to say 90 percent of rumors are way off base, to the point where it’s almost annoying how wrong they are!” laughs
“We live in a time where a bad rumor kind of spreads and people start accepting it as the truth. Or, say Phil [Miller] and Chris [Lord,Across the Spider-Verse’s executive producers] might have said something in an interview four or five years ago, fans then go ‘They said thatmighthappen! Now we know it’s going to happen’. Guys, the movie is almost ready. You will see it. But yeah, the vast majority of rumors are false.”
“There have been some doozies, for sure,” Dos Santos added. “On the other side of it, though, it’s like, we’re happy people are talking and pontificating on it, rather than not at all. Believe me, for a million years, I raged about who would win in a fight between Spider-Man and Wolverine or, you know, if we’d ever see a bigMarveland DC crossover. People are going to talk and that’s just part of being in the fandom.”
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Analysis: a web of misdirects, or fanning the flames?
Given the lengthy involvement inAcross the Spider-Verse’s development, Powers and Dos Santos' comments can be taken at face value. They know what the film’s story is about, which characters will show up, who’ll get the most character development, how it’ll end – and lead into its sequel,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is currently slated to launch in theaters in March 2024.
That said, the pair are sure to have thrown a few misdirects our way over the last 12 months. Even if a solitary Spider-Man fan had correctly guessed the movie’s story, including its ending, Powers, Dos Santos, and company aren’t going to let us know that someonehasgot it right. That would only further fuel the fire, and result in fans of the webslinger searching for the correct theory online.
We aren’t averse to speculating on what’ll go down inSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, either. We’ve discussed our thoughts on the movie’s direction in our hub (linked above), as well as in ourAcross the Spider-Versetrailer breakdownarticle. We can’t sit here, then, act all high and mighty, and tell fans of the wallcrawler to stop theorizing and simply wait for the film to arrive in theaters.
With certain members of the movie’s cast and crew dropping the occasional tease our way, too, we can’t help but speculate on what we’ll see when one of our most anticipatednew moviesof 2023 works its way into cinemas, either. Just this week, Powers told CinemaCon attendees (via Total Film) that the film hassecret cameos that its main voice cast doesn’t even know about– one of which is “gonna blow your eyeballs out the backside of your head”. Meanwhile,The Lonely Island’s Instagram accounthas teased Andy Samberg joining fellow comedian/actor Jorma Taccone in voicing a character in the film, even thoughSonyandMarvelhaven’t confirmed his involvement.
Across the Spider-Verse’s own creative team, then, is helping to drive discussions and fan theories about the flick pre-release. As Dos Santos and Powers say, that’s part and parcel of the world we live in today. Even so, in partaking of these online discussions, they’re fanning the flames of the very same fan theories they state are “off base”, which we’re sure is amusing them greatly. Curse you both!
Still, we don’t have much longer to wait forSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseto swing into theaters worldwide, so we’ll soon know which fan theories were bang on the money. Be sure to check back in with TechRadar next week for a more in-depth, exclusive discussion with Dos Santos and Powers about the movie, too.
In the meantime, find outhow to watch the Spider-Man movies in order, or read ourSpider-Man movies rankedpiece. Alternatively, seehow oneAcross the Spider-Verseposter spoiled some of its biggest cameosand seewhy the Miles Morales-starring film might be more connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universethan we realize.
As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.
Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.
Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.
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