After multiple delays, Sony Pictures Animation's "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" is preparing to push the visual language of its first two films even further. Producers and screenwriters Phil Lord and Chris Miller recently revealed that the third installment will embrace a look that breaks the traditional rules of 3D animation while introducing a cinematography pipeline modeled more closely on live-action filmmaking.
During a recent live taping of the podcast "The Town with Matthew Belloni" at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, host Matthew Belloni asked why the movies take so long to make. Lord and Miller explained that the new installment is not only exploring fresh approaches to animation but also dramatically reworking its cinematography.
"The particular looks we're doing are really, really unique, and they don't follow the rules of three-dimensional animation. They're much more in a 2D multiplane kind of style," Lord and Miller said. Traditionally used in hand-drawn animation, the multiplane technique creates depth by arranging visual layers at different distances. The new film aims to bring that layered, illustrated quality into computer animation, continuing the franchise's signature moving-comic-book aesthetic.
"Our camera pipeline is completely new and much more like a live-action pipeline, so there will be a lot more handheld camerawork," the pair added. "We have live-action camera operators involved, almost as if they're physically shooting inside a virtual environment." The film has also tapped "Wicked" cinematographer Alice Brooks as director of photography, giving the camera movement inside its digital worlds a more tactile, live-action feel.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" ended in 2023 with Miles Morales stranded in another universe, and the sequel will pick up from that cliffhanger. While the filmmakers have now outlined their technical approach, the final results of that visual overhaul remain under wraps.
"Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" is currently scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on June 18, 2027.
via： CBM