Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features a lot of fun surprises, though perhaps the biggest was somehow kept under wraps prior to the sequel's release in theatres last week.
We are, of course, talking about Donald Glover's Prowler. The actor first played Aaron Davis in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming but has yet to return to that world; however, there's clearly at least one reality where he suits up as the iconic villain and occasional anti-hero.
Talking to Rolling Stone, producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller were asked to elaborate on recruiting the actor they first worked with when he played Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
"Yeah, it was definitely a personal reach-out to Donald, who we love and stayed close with," Lord says. "We reached out and were like, 'We thought of something. It will be so easy. And you commit to nothing.' And he was really excited to be part of it."
Miller adds, "We did a fun little shoot. And we got Trayce Gigi Field, who was the costume designer for the first season of [Miller’s Apple TV+ series] The Afterparty to build a Prowler suit in a matter of weeks."
Asked why the movie featured live-action elements rather than just animating those characters, Miller said, "We [wanted] to honor the original cinematic style or language that each world’s character is coming from...we never even considered doing an animated version of Donald Glover. That wasn’t true to the universe that his character came from."
Early in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man 2099 references the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and specifically namedrops Doctor Strange.
The movie even features a shot of the Multiverse that's blatantly identical to the MCU's version, and Lord had nothing but good things to say about what sounds like a very giving back-and-forth with Marvel Studios.
"Marvel has given us a lot of rope. It’s been a very fruitful collaboration. But it’s not like there’s some shadowy board of figures that you have to run things by. I think Kevin’s a big admirer of the first movie and just believes like a rising tide lifts all boats."
With any luck, this means those recent Avengers: Secret Wars rumours are indeed correct.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.