After a missed opportunity with this year's Spider-Man: Homecoming, Miles Morales—Marvel's other Spider-Man, the one that isn't Peter Parker—is finally swinging his way onto the big screen. Sony Pictures Animation confirmed today that Morales will be the web-slinger at the heart of the studio's upcoming Spider-Man animated movie.
The movie will be written by The Lego Movie's Phil Lord, who also acts as co-executive producer on the project with his Last Man on Earth and Lego Movie partner Chris Miller. The Little Prince's Bob Persichetti and Rise of the Guardians' Peter Ramsey will co-direct.
Morales was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli in 2011 as the primary Spider-Man for Marvel's "Ultimate" imprint. The character—a mixed-race teenager of African-American and Hispanic descent—quickly became a break-out star, to the point of being one of the few characters to be folded into the mainstream comic book line of the publisher in 2015's All-New, All-Different Marvel line-wide relaunch. Currently, he appears in the Spider-Man and Champions series from the publisher.
Outside of comics, he's appeared in the Disney XD animated series Spider-Man: Web Warriors, and will be one of the leads of the upcoming Marvel's Spider-Man animated series launching this summer. He was once rumored to be in the running to anchor the movie franchise when Marvel and Sony partnered to reboot it for a second time two years ago. Obviously, that didn't happen—and his forthcoming animated movie debut won't tie into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe—but good things happen to heroes who wait, apparently.
The as-yet-untitled Spider-Man animated movie is scheduled to hit theaters December 21, 2018.
