Sony's New Animated 'Spider-Man' Movie Will Put a Fan-Favorite Behind the Mask
Sony revealed that the upcoming animated "Spider-Man" film will not be another go-round for Peter Parker, but will instead feature Miles Morales, the first African-American version of the superhero.
Fan-favorite Morales first appeared in an August 2011 comic, following the death of Peter Parker. He's a teenager of Black Hispanic descent, which makes him the first black Spider-Man.
Executive producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the guys behind "The Lego Movie" and who are currently filming the Han Solo movie in London, made a brief video presentation. They explained they've always loved the idea that "anyone, regardless of color or gender, can wear the mask."
They also promised it will be a standalone film that will be "very different" from "Spider-Man: Homecoming" starring Tom Holland as the Webcrawler.
Sony Animation president Kristine Belson presented some of the concept art for the as-yet-untitled animated film, which emphasizes the moody rain-slicked streets and neon lights of Spidey's urban environment. And yes, there's plenty of shots of Spidey swinging into action, along with the requisite scene of him brooding over the city from the edge of a high-rise building.
Morales is actually the second Latino character to don Spidey's tights: Miguel O'Hara, who is of half Mexican descent, was the title character in 1992's "Spider-Man 2099" comics.
Miles, who's described as a science-loving nerd like Peter Parker, was born and raised in Brooklyn (Steve Rogers would approve!) He's the son of an African-American father and a Puerto Rican mother. Casting has not yet been announced.
The only other thing we know? It's got a release date -- December 21, 2018.