As Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse continues to rack up rave reviews for delivering another wildly inventive visual extravaganza starring Miles Morales, newcomers to the series might wonder if they really need to watch the first movie. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse before moving on.
The answer: yes.
The groundbreaking first film contains a significant amount of world-building and character introductions that are essential to enjoying the sequel. Specifically, Into the Spider-Verse sets up Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as the new Spider-Man in his reality while laying the groundwork for the “Spider-Verse,” which is essentially a multiverse filled with different different Spider-People.
One such Spider-People is Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), an older, less fortunate version of the classic character who regains his confidence by mentoring Miles. Also in the mix is Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), a multiversal take on Peter Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy, who becomes her world’s Spider-Man after her version of Peter is murdered. Miles, Gwen and Peter B. are the main characters of the spider worms movies and missing the start of their friendship isn’t the best idea.
Keeping plot details and characters aside, you should also watch Into the Spider-Verse because it’s just a really good movie. He was nominated for an Oscar! The movie introduced a bold new style of animation that pushed the boundaries of what comic book movies can be, and based on early reviews, the sequel not only kept the ball rolling, but moved the series into exciting new directions.
Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse hits theaters June 2.