Daniel Kaluuya recently teased his upcoming Spider-Punk animated feature, revealing where he and cowriter Ajon Singh are in their development alongside Sony Pictures.
The actor confirmed he and Singh are in the “finishing stages” of a first draft of the script for the project, in a recent interview with Deadline, and explained: “We’re in our process.” That said, Kaluuya was tight-lipped when it came to plot details, with his only response about whether the film would be a standalone project or if other characters from the Spider-Verse would appear being “TBD.”
Kaluuya, who garnered an Oscar nomination for his role in Get Out, also revealed that the “intense” response to his character Spider-Punk in the 2023 film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse laid the groundwork for this project. “It’s exciting to be writing something in this space,” he said in the interview.
He added: “Those Spider-Verse films, they speak to me. I was so inspired by them. I think the filmmakers and the animators are some of the best storytellers in the game. So, I want to put myself in environments where I can grow and learn what they know.”
Kaluuya also noted that Spider-Verse writers Phil Lord — who Kaluuya called a “great storyteller” alongside cowriter Christopher Miller during the interview — previously gave him a crucial note in an early treatment of the film that shaped his perspective: “films aren’t about people, they’re about relationships.”
“They also tap into a joy of cinema and storytelling and animation,” he added of the filmmaking duo. “And I think joy is so hard to do and that’s something I’m aspiring for. They love what they do and that’s what the audience is really feeling.”
Every Upcoming Spider-Man Movie Spin-Off in Development
Kaluuya is set to reprise his role as Hobart “Hobie” Brown aka Spider-Punk in 2027’s Beyond the Spider-Verse, but it appears he will also do so in this new film, whenever it hits theaters in the near future.
Spider-Punk first appeared in Marvel comics in 2015 as a homeless teenager who becomes a hero to the citizens of New York in his own universe, sporting the same powers as Peter Parker but with a deep affinity for punk rock. This grungy Spider-Man is the leader of an underground resistance against Norman Osborn’s authoritarian rule, and he’s not completely sold on the idea of the Spider Society.
It’s a busy time for Spider-Man generally. Production on Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is underway (as everyone in Glasgow, Scotland knows), with a July 31, 2026 release date. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse arrives a year later, on June 18, 2027. There’s also Spider-Noir, a live-action Prime Video series starring Nicolas Cage, due out next year.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.