The sequel to ‘Spider-Man: A New Universe’ will have three directors, including Kemp Powers (‘Soul’)
Joaquim Dos Santos is joined by Justin K. Thompson and the co-director of the Pixar film.
Spider-Man: A New Universe was so successful in late 2018 (crowned with an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film) that Sony Pictures Animation couldn’t do anything but confirm its sequel within weeks of the film hitting theaters. Joaquim Dos Santos, responsible for series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra, would make his feature film debut with Spider-Man: A New Universe 2, having been confirmed from the beginning. Almost three years later, the project has undergone a significant change and now, according to Variety, Dos Santos will be accompanied in front of the film by Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers.
Thus, what happened with the first A New Universe is repeated, at the hands of another trio of directors consisting of Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman. Of the new team, it should be noted that Thompson was the production designer for A New Universe and has worked on the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs films, with the Spider-Man sequel taking his first directorial credit as such. Regarding Powers, he turns out to be the most famous of the trio, since he was co-director of Soul with Pete Docter and wrote the play on which A Night in Miami was based., also being in charge of developing the script for the film adaptation directed by Regina King.
“The Spider-Man: A New Universe team set the bar ridiculously high, and we humbly take on the challenge of directing the new chapter in the Miles Morales story,” the trio announced in a statement. Along with Peter Ramsey, director of the first part, this sequel has as producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, and Avi Arrad, while its script is in the hands of Lord and Miller themselves with the addition of Dave Callaham. Who turns out to be, for his part, the scriptwriter of the same Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings of which we had the first trailer yesterday.
The Lord / Miller duo has also issued a statement on their part, celebrating the incorporation of Thompson and Powers. “We are very fortunate to have Joaquin, Justin, and Kemp in the team of A New Universe, ” they said. “We are huge fans of Joaquim’s work: his characters are unique and he can tell an emotional story through an action sequence in the same way that a musical does through a song. Kemp’s work is incisive, ambitious, and fun, with the wisdom of a screenwriter and the heart of a director.”
“We sincerely like them and want to be their friends, and we hope that working together on this film over the years will allow that to happen,” they concluded. Spider-Man: A New Universe 2 is set to premiere on October 7, 2022.