Following the successful opening weekend of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, it has been revealed that one of the sequel’s over 1000 animators was actually a 14-year-old from Toronto, Canada. For Marvel fans who have seen Across the Spider-Verse, you’ll know that one of the many universes featured in the movie was a LEGO world showing a LEGO version of Peter Parker updating Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara/ Spider-Man 2099 about a multiversal anomaly caused by The Spot.
The particular scene was animated by the talented Preston Mutanga, who impressed producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller when he uploaded a LEGO remake of the Across the Spider-Verse trailer earlier this year. In an interview with The New York Times, Miller confirmed that they immediately reached out to Mutanga after watching his LEGO trailer, which he described as something that “looks incredibly sophisticated for a nonadult, nonprofessional to have made.”
Mutanga revealed that his interest in animation started after his father introduced him to “the 3-D software called Blender.” Afterwards, he began teaching himself through watching “a lot of YouTube videos to teach myself certain stuff.”
“I adored the first movie and was so hyped for the second one, so getting to work with the people who actually made this masterpiece was honestly like a dream,” Mutanga added.
Across the Spider-Verse’s Box Office Haul
Nearly a week since its debut, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has currently garnered a worldwide gross of over $230 million at the box office. Just like its 2018 predecessor, the sequel has also received universal acclaim for its groundbreaking animation and thrilling storyline.
The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. It features the voices of Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk, Karan Soni as Spider-Man India, Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099, Jason Schwartzman as The Spot, Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis, Luna Lauren Velez as Rio Morales, Greta Lee as Lyla, Andy Samberg, and more.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg with Alonzo Ruvalcaba. Aditya Sood and the first film’s director, Peter Ramsey, are executive producing.
