What is ‘The Spider-Within’ and how does it connect to ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’?

Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks have announced plans to release a new short film titled The Spider Within that will tie in to the upcoming full length feature, Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse.

But what is The Spider Within about? According to Variety, the short will focus on Miles Morales as he struggles to balance aspects of his life alongside being a superhero. The stresses of his new life soon become too much for Miles and after one particularly difficult day, he has a panic attack. The attack forces him to confront his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help isn’t weakness, but rather a brave thing to do.

There has been no confirmation of exactly when the story takes place within the canon of the films. It will be premiering at the Annecy animation festival in France between June 11-17, which is after the release date of Across the Spider-Verse, which is finally coming out after multiple delays, so it’s possible that The Spider Within could be a follow-up. Across the Spider-Verse is set to hit theaters June 2nd.

Although we won’t know exactly how it links to the main film, it’s mostly self-contained, so the short will probably tell its own story with the character that has little impact on the overall plot. The creators have chosen to focus on a smaller but more personal plot which will be interesting to see as it will differ from the usual dramatic, world-saving plots that we’ve seen of the Spider-Verse films so far. Producers even originally planned a more Endgame-esque plot for the sequel.

The new short is the first production in an ongoing initiative run by Sony. The programme, known as LENS, (Leading and Empowering New Storytellers), aims to give an opportunity to underrepresented groups to gain leadership experience in animation. Four candidates are taken from inside and outside the studio and given roles such as Director or animation supervisor, they will then work together on a short animated project such as The Spider Within. 

The four candidates for the short were selected nine months ago and now that the project is completed, it looks like new candidates will be selected to make another short. Having a different team of underrepresented talent allows for a completely different approach that might not have been done by the main studio, so The Spider Within could feel very different to its parent films. Either way, it will be a fresh and exciting story.

There’s currently no confirmed general release for the short film.