On an official level, 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and thus can’t involve Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
Then when the marketing for next month’s sequel to the Sony Pictures release began, Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 in one of the trailers appeared to make a direct reference to the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
Fans took that line, in which the character says: “Doctor Strange and that little nerd back on Earth-199999,” as a seemingly direct connection between these animated universes and the MCU.
Now though, co-director Kemp Powers has shot down such talk in a new interview with SFX Magazine (via Slashfilm). He explains that there is no connections, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make meta references and have fun with it:
“The world of Miles Morales and Spider-Verse, it’s not tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything like that. But this is a [Phil] Lord and [Chris] Miller film. We like to have a little bit of fun, we like to be a little bit meta and to acknowledge the world in which we are creating these stories. That’s the best way to explain it.”
Powers then says that little nod in the trailer was something entirely their own call, with Marvel Studios not weighing in at all:
“This isn’t something where we did anything in conjunction with Marvel. Miles’s universe, trust me, there’s plenty to work with. That gag is one of many, and my favorite gag is one that people don’t know about yet. But I think when they see it, they’re going to be pretty stunned. It’s a serious film, but it’s also a film with a lot of fun in it.”
Disney and Marvel Studios have so far kept the main MCU separate from Sony’s Marvel films like “Venom” and “Morbius,” with only some very brief post-credits scenes confirming the Sony films are a part of their own separate universe.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is set to hit cinemas on June 2nd.
