Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was initially slated to release March 29th, 2024. Then it was delayed indefinitely. Finally, nine months later, we have a major update.

No, it’s not a release date. It’s the directing team.

Every Spider-Verse film has been a collaborative creative effort. Into the Spider-Verse had Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman direct. Across the Spider-Verse had Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thomson.

Deadline had the exclusive that Sony Animation has tapped Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson to lead Beyond the Spider-Verse.

A Full-Circle Creative Team

Bob and Justin released a statement:

We have had the immense privilege of being part of Miles’ journey from the very beginning, and directing the conclusion to his story is beyond exciting. The creativity and care poured into every minute of this project has been truly inspiring. We have crafted what we feel is a very satisfying ending, and we can’t wait for fans to experience it—we’re bringing everything we’ve got.

It feels full-circle that a director from the first and second movies would combine forces for the third, conclusive one. But Persichetti and Thompson have each been there since the beginning. When Persichetti was a director, Thompson was the production designer. And when Thompson directed, Perscichetti was executive producer. There’s an established working relationship that should serve them well.

The creative duo that have spearheaded the entire trilogy, Phil Lord and Chris Miller—who wrote Beyond the Spider-Verse—had this to say:

Bob and Justin’s fingerprints are woven into the DNA of these films, and their passion for Miles’ journey shines through in every frame of his last adventure. There is nothing more rewarding than collaborating with creative partners with bold vision and brilliant execution like Bob and Justin. We are thrilled to work with them once again to create a beautiful and satisfying conclusion to this story.”

Exciting as all that is, missing from the announcement is any kind of release date. Or window. Or year.

Why Fans Are Still Waiting For a Release Date

Into the Spider-Verse first released in 2018. Across the Spider-Verse didn’t hit theaters until 2023. It gave fans hope when, in April 2022, Sony Animation gave Beyond a date of March 29, 2024. The assumption was that the two projects had been worked on in tandem, explaining the half-decade between the first and second installments.

A year later, in an expose for Vulture about the working conditions for artists on the Spider-Verse films, someone only referred to as Stephen, said:

They’ve announced that
Beyond the Spider-Verse
will be released in March of next year. I’ve seen people say, “Oh, they probably worked on it at the same time.” There’s no way that movie’s coming out then. There’s been progress on the pre-production side of things. But as far as the production side goes, the only progress that’s been made on the third one is an exploration or tests that were done before the movie was split into two parts. Everyone’s been fully focused on
Across the Spider-Verse
and barely crossing the finish line. And now it’s like, “Oh, yeah, now we have to do the other one.”

Soon after, during an interview with ComicBook.com, Lord said they would “take the time necessary to make Beyond the Spider-Verse great.” While Miller added: “And we won’t back into a release date that doesn’t fit.”

Now we’ll just wait and see what comes out first, Beyond the Spider-Verse or George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter.

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Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse