As much as Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk is a fan-favorite in the latest film, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, we almost didn’t get the now-iconic role.
In an interview with EW, writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed that Kaluuya almost didn’t have such a significant role in Across The Spider-Verse.
“He was in and out of the picture for a little while because we weren’t sure which elements we were going to stick in this part and which were going to migrate to the next movie,” Lord said.
It wasn’t long before they “realized that he had to be Hobie Brown, no matter the cost.” Lord continues, “And Hobie had to be in the movie because that personality needed to be part of the story.”
“Some people were like, ‘Is there a way to simplify this? There’s so many characters. Do we really need Spider-Punk?’” Miller said. “But once we got to know Daniel, we rewrote the part so it became more necessary.”
SEE ALSO: Read our ★★★★★ review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse here
Adding to the conversation was co-director Kemp Powers, noting, “As we were doing visual development on the character, we were actually using audio clips of interviews with Daniel Kaluuya. Kaluuya’s natural speaking voice was right in the pocket of that effortless cool we envisioned the Hobie character having from the beginning.”
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hails from directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers and features a voice cast that includes Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Jake Johnson as Peter. B Parker, Oscar Issac as Spider-Man 2099, Issa Rae as Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk, Karan Soni as Spider-Man India, and Jason Schwartzman as The Spot.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is playing in select cinemas and is now available digitally.
