WhileSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Versehas been enjoying success at the box office, there appears to be trouble brewing behind the scenes. Animators that worked on the movie have been speaking out about their experiences, and producer Amy Pascal was quick to say her piece about the working conditions.
Like its predecessor,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versehas been lauded for its impressive and innovative animation. Each animated universe featured in the movie has its own artistic style, and each character faithfully represents the animation style their universe has - no matter how complicated.Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk/Hobie Brown is one of the most impressive examples, as his figure constantly shifts to accentuate his collage-style image.
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As fans have already guessed, accomplishing this feat of animation was not easy; someSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseanimators have spoken outabout how grueling the process was. Four animators toldVultureabout how the demanding production caused about 100 employees to leave the project and described how Phil Lord’s handling of revisions made the project more difficult than it already was. Pascal responded to these claims by saying, “One of the things about animation that makes it such a wonderful thing to work on is that you get to keep going until the story is right. If the story isn’t right, you have to keep going until it is.” Addressing those who specifically had trouble keeping up with the fluctuating demands of the movie, Pascal said, “I guess, welcome to making a movie.”
Pascal’s comment directed at struggling employees seems to imply that they only struggled because they weren’t accustomed to the hard work it takes to make a movie come to life. However, one of the animators that spoke with Vulture - who remained unnamed - has spent years in the industry and described Lord’s process as “another level of crazy.” Speaking specifically about the end ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s production, the animator said, “Animation is finishing Friday. Completely. No animator is going to put a key down anymore. And Phil is still rewriting stuff.”
Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verseisn’t the only movie that will be affected by this pushback. Referring to theannouncement ofSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’s release date, another anonymous animator that spoke with Vulture said, “There’s no way that movie’s coming out then. There’s been progress on the pre-production side of things. But as far as the production side goes, the only progress that’s been made on the third one is any exploration or tests that were done before the movie was split into two parts.”
If this animator is to be believed, the odds ofSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versebeing released on its original date are slim to none. Though there hasn’t been an official announcement from Sony regarding a delay, the fact thatSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verseis still in pre-productionsuggests that there’s no way the movie will be finished in time for it to be released next March. It sounds like even if Pascal has her way and animators continue to work incredibly long days,Beyond the Spider-Versewill probably not release next March - and it may not even come out next year.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis playing in theaters now.
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