A source from Sony reassured that the studio is “taking a lot of tender loving care with the film,” so there’s no need for concern.
This news isn’t entirely unexpected, as a report in September indicated that Sony had scrapped most of Beyond the Spider-Verse for “creative reasons.” Given the intricate animation involved, the film is now unlikely to debut before 2027.
Subsequently, it was revealed that Sony had requested a complete rewrite of the script for “Beyond,” resulting in the disposal of numerous animated reels. The studio is also reportedly uncertain about the film's ending.
Last week, voice actor Jharrel Jerome mentioned in an interview with Screen Rant that he hadn’t yet worked on Beyond the Spider-Verse, indicating he was as uninformed about the film's status as the fans are.
The groundbreaking Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse achieved both commercial and critical success in the summer of 2023, with Beyond the Spider-Verse originally slated for a March 2024 release.
These delays, along with the script and footage scrapping, may be linked to a recent conflict between creative duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller and Sony, particularly regarding “Spider-Noir.” The duo had signed a five-year, nine-figure deal with the studio in 2019 to oversee a series of Spider-Man projects, but Sony chose not to renew their contract due to this disagreement.
Compounding the situation, last year Vulture reported on Lord and Miller’s controversial management style during the production of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Crew members, including artists and production executives with extensive experience in animation, described the process of creating the $150 million film as “uniquely arduous,” characterized by “relentless revisionism” and “death by a thousand paper cuts.”
Recently, Lord and Miller completed production on Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, marking their first directorial project since leaving Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018.
