'The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story' To Release On YouTube After Annecy Debut

Miles Morales is Spider-Man, and the toll it takes is just as undeniable

It’s been many months since Sony pulled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse off of the highly-optimistic March 29, 2024 release date it was originally given to cap off their Spider-Verse trilogy. It’s been 4 months since both strikes have ended, and its rescheduling has not occurred. While the wait continues, Sony Pictures Animation has had something in its back pocket awaiting release, and are making it incredibly accessible.

The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story is a short film that sees Miles Morales continue to struggle balancing his social, school, and Spider-Man lives so much that he has a panic attack. That panic attack forces him to confront the anxiety that continues to manifest and learn that there’s nothing wrong with asking for help, and asking for help is as brave as his superhero work. It debuted last June at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, but it wasn’t until this week that it was revealed how the public would see it, as Across the Spider-Verse had already debuted in theaters ten days earlier and the short hadn’t been attached there or to the January re-release. The Spider Within will be released on Sony Pictures Animation’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, March 27 at 9 AM Pacific. It stars Shameik Moore reprising his role as Miles, and Brian Tyree Henry once again as his dad Jefferson Davis.

The release is being done in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund, and will be part of the fund’s new mental health-focused lesson plan, “The Hero Within”. It invites students to tell their own story through the lens of mental health awareness through an interactive curriculum. Love, founder and 16-year NBA veteran, has become a mental health advocate and said, “My hope for the short film would be for everyone, especially young people, to understand that your feelings are valid and that you are not alone in this.” He would continue, describing themes and plot progression, so it might be best to find out for yourself. Wait the days out if you’re coming upon this early enough.

Jarelle Dampier, the short film’s director adds “Miles represents so many of us doing the best we can in our day-to-day lives. We don’t often realize all that we’ve been through until our own body forces us to become aware of its experience. My intention is that The Spider Within can motivate deeper conversations amongst friends & family about their own mental health journeys — and I hope it feels like a love letter to those who adore Miles Morales.”

The short film was developed and produced in the Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Leading and Empowering New Storytellers (LENS) program, a nine-month leadership training program that for minority candidates culminating in a final project of an all-original short film, set in a pre-existing Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks film IP. In particular, LENS alums Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg produced, while Clara Chan served as a visual effects supervisor supervisor and Joe Darko served as animation supervisor. It is written by Khaila Amazan, and again, swings onto YouTube on the morning of March 27.

Source: Variety