Lord & Miller Detail Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Villains

More details about the upcoming sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and its large cast of characters have been revealed, including what fans can expect from some of the antagonists and villains in the film.

After briefly appearing in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in a cameo role, Oscar Isaac’s role as Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099, will be greatly expanded upon. While still a Spider-Man, this character will serve as an antagonist to Miles Morales — something that producer Christopher Miller said is very different than just being a villain.

“He’s not the villain of the movie, but he’s sort of an antagonist to Miles because they both think that what they’re doing is the right thing,” Miller said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Miller also spoke about Isaac’s point of view in the upcoming film, noting that while he and Miles do have a lot in common, they don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to the safety of the multiverse.

Elsewhere in the interview, Lord and Miller also spoke about the real villain in the film, Spot, played by Jason Schwartzman. The character, who is a more obscure comic book villain, has the ability to create portals between dimensions — something that Phil Lord says makes for an incredible villain in an animated film like this one.

“I like the villains best when they reflect the journeys of the hero — sort of a dark mirror of the protagonist,” Lord adds. “And I think Spot’s no different. He wants to be seen as legitimate. He’s a character that has a silly costume and is not always seen as the top tier of Spider-Man foes, but like all of us, he wants to be taken seriously.”

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is set to release in theaters on June 2, 2023. It stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, and Daniel Kaluuya.