Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse directors confirm return of two beloved Spidey actors

There are, as I'm sure you've noticed, a lot of Spider-People in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

Google tells me that the collective noun for a group of spiders is a "clutter" or "cluster". It feels accurate from what we've seen of the upcoming sequel so far to say that there are, indeed, a clutter of Spider-People in this movie.

While Miles Morales remains the beating heart of this multiversal adventure, there's a little something for everyone - a Spider-Man from every damn corner of his 60-year history. GAMINGbible spoke with the movie's directors Joaquim Dos Santos and Kemp Powers (Justin K. Thompson sadly couldn't join us) to learn a little more about some of the Spider-Folk involved in Across The Spider-Verse... and we were excited to learn two very familiar names are returning.

"I don't know that there were any Spider-Men off limits," Dos Santos explained over Zoom. "We dug so deep."

"We looked at some spider material that was maybe not the most... legally secure spider material," laughed Powers. "Like, no one knows who owns that that frickin Italian Spider Man - who's not in this movie, by the way! But we were just like 'hat's this guy's deal?'"

You'll probably have noticed from the trailers that there are so many classic Spider-Men. Fellow nerds will doubtless have been delighted to glimpse the low-poly Spider-Man from 2000's excellent video game adaptation. You'll also probably have spotted Insomniac Games' very own version of Spidey, brought to life in the 2018 video game and its upcoming sequel by the wonderful Yuri Lowenthal.

But while there are hundreds of Spidery heroes swinging around in Across The Spider-Verse, it's clear not every single one can have a substantial role. Certainly, Lowenthal himself seemed to indicate a few months back that Insomniac's Spider-Man would be little more than a silent background player. However, it seems we can expect to hear Lowenthal's webhead - however briefly.

"He has a line at least," Dos Santos confirmed. "He speaks. We had a really cool meeting with Insomniac pretty early on where we shared creative ideas. I'm a huge gamer. I played Spider Man on the Atari so for me, I was geeking out that there was even a possibility."

Diehard Spidey fans were also super stoked to see that the incarnation of Peter Parker that appeared in the short-lived, critically acclaimed Spectacular Spider-Man animated series was prominent on the movie's gorgeous poster. It turns out Josh Keaton, who played Spider-Man on that show, also reprised his role for this project. While it's unclear exactly how large a role Keaton's Spidey will play, it's still a huge win for fans of an incredible adaptation that was cancelled way too soon. Dos Santos, incidentally, worked on Spectacular back in the day.

There are plenty of Spidery boys and girls yet to be revealed, and I'd imagine that this is exactly the kind of movie that will reward constant rewatches as we discover all its hidden delights. For now, take heart from the fact that two of the best Spider-Men to ever do it are officially getting back into the swing of things.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse swings into theatres June 2, 2023.