Sony Pictures Animation presented the announced short film The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story , a spin-off of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse centered on Miles Morales , at the Annecy Film Festival .
The theme of the short is mental health and in it we see Miles struggling with some panic attacks due to the overload of everyday life, between school, exams and personal relationships. His fears manifest in the form of Miles’ dark alter ego and an imaginary spider infestation in his bedroom. The short also focuses on the relationship between Miles and his father Jefferson “Jeff” Morales, and on the importance of a strong relationship between fathers and sons. Here is the first image of the short.
Earlier today, our talented LENS filmmaking team premiered The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story at #AnnecyFestival! Here is an exclusive first look at their short film. pic.twitter.com/XBwU9WMGRh
— Sony Pictures Animation (@SonyAnimation) June 12, 2023
The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story originates from a program, created by Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks, called LENS , Leading and Empowering New Storytellers, designed to showcase talent from underrepresented groups. Directed by Jarelle Dampier , the screenplay by Khalla Amazan , while Clara Chan handled the visual effects supervision and Joe Darko supervised the animation. The four appeared on stage in Annecy together with Michelle Raimo Kouyate and David Schulenburg , producers of the LENS programme.
The group of creatives was given carte blanche on the direction to give to the short, and the idea of the panic attacks came from a first-hand experience lived by Amazan, when he discovered that he had been accepted into the LENS program. Amazon said:
In the post-pandemic world, I felt like I had a lot of trauma. I think many of us have had them. One of the biggest things that seemed to be about to surface was anxiety.
The day I was offered to direct this film, I had the biggest panic attack I can remember in my life. I spent the night in the hospital. I was so excited and happy for the opportunity, yet my whole body shut down. I wanted to look into this and open the door to some healthy conversations for everyone.
The director, Jarelle Dampier, also said that there are five easter eggs in the short that fans will have to find. Currently, however, there are no details on when and where the short will be presented to the general public.