'Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse' adds Nicholas Cage, Kimiko Glenn, and John Mulaney to cast
There is an understandable hype surrounding Sony Pictures Animation project 'Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse,' with its unique painting-esque style of animation catching the eye of viewers and promising Peter Parkers from a multitude of alternate universes. And the movie just got a little bit bigger with Sony's SDCC panel at Hall H announcing that there would be three new additions to the cast in the form of Nicholas Cage, Kimiko Glenn, and John Mulaney.
Cage will be voicing the character of Spider-Man Noir, a Peter Parker from an alternate noir-styled world, while Glenn would be the voice behind Peni Parker, the teenage adopted niece of Ben and May Parker and pilot of the SP/dr armor who shares a psionic link with her suit and radioactive spider co-pilot. She will hail from an alternate technologically advanced world. Mulaney will be voicing Peter Porker aka Spider-Ham, the titular hero from an anthropomorphic alternate world.
The trio will be joining the likes of Shameik Moore, the voice of Miles Morales, the half-Puerto Rican, half-African-American who will be the primary interest of the animated feature, as well as Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman), Mahershala Ali (Aaron Davis/Prowler), Jake Johnson (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Liev Schreiber (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin), Brian Tyree Henry (Jefferson Davis/Miles' father), Luna Lauren Velez (Rio Morales/Miles' mother), and Lily Tomlin (May Parker/Peter Parker's aunt).
According to Entertainment Weekly, Moore, Johnson, and Steinfeld were in attendance at the panel with producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller to debut unfinished footage. In said clip, the audience saw Morales as he first begins experiencing the symptoms — including inexplicably sticky hands, which of course, he chalks down to puberty — that make him into Spider-Man.
Viewers also snuck a glimpse at Morales paying his respects and mourning at Parker's gravesite, only to be caught by off guard by an older, different Peter Parker. Shocked, the teenager knocks the older Parker unconscious, and soon enough, he's hilariously swinging from the skyscrapers in a desperate bid to outrun police with the knocked out Parker in tow.
And of course, there were some equally funny, meta, fourth-wall breaking introductions for the new characters. Cage's Spider-Man Noir is the first, portrayed in black and white and with a dramatic wind blowing around him, leading Parker to ponder "Where is that wind coming from? We're in a basement." Peni Parker and Spider-Ham follow, making up an ensemble that will be tasked with combining their powers and taking down a looming threat in their city.
Lord addressed the gathered audience and said, "Miles’ story takes place in an alternate dimension to our own," adding: "The Spider-Verse is basically all of these alternate ways of telling this story and all these different people that experience it. The thought of this movie was, what if those different stories intersect? How would it shake them up? What would happen if these people met?"
'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' is scheduled for release on December 14, 2018.