Even as Sony Pictures consented to the collaborative use of the film rights for Marvel superhero Spider-Man with Marvel Studios, allowing the web-head to appear in a new movie version for the MCU franchise, the former is still invested in developing new productions with the character. One of their biggest successes in that vein was 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” an animated take on one of the legacy versions of Spider-Man, teenager Miles Morales. Said movie ruled the box office and won the Oscar for Best Animated Film. A sequel and spinoff have been guaranteed by Sony, and the follow-up’s director(s) have been officially revealed.

The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Picture have tapped no less than three filmmakers to work together and direct the sequel to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” While earlier reports have it that the studios have already considered Joaquim Dos Santos for the job, this confirmation also adds the names of Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers to form a directorial triumvirate. The three issued a joint statement expressing how humbled they were to be chosen for the project: “We can’t wait to surprise fans with the wild new adventure we’re sending Miles on with his friends, both old and new!”

Of the three, Thompson is highly familiar with the first “Spider-Verse” film due to being its production designer, a role he also had in a Sony Animation film “Cloudy with a Chance for Meatballs.” Powers wrote the 2020 Disney-Pixar streaming hit “Soul,” and is also an upcoming Academy Award contender for Amazon’s “One Night in Miami.” As for Dos Santos, the first name attached to this Spidey sequel, he was a storyboard artist and later season 3 episode director for Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” then becoming co-show-runner for DreamWorks and Netflix’s “Voltron: Legendary Defender.”

The “Spider-Verse” sequel will again have Phil Lord and Chris Miller on writing and producing duties, and they highly approve of the director trio that Sony had Columbia has put together. “We are so lucky to have Joaquim, Justin and Kemp on the ‘Spider-Verse’ team,” Miller and Lord say in a statement. “They are all Super Heroes at what they do and each brings a unique sensibility to the ‘Spider-Verse.’” The movie is slated for release in October of 2022.

Image courtesy of Variety