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Spoiler alert: spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
resulting in the release of Spider-Man: Through the Spider-VerseAnd writer and producer Chris Miller has repeatedly compared the sequel to widespread praise In the spider verse to The empire strikes. And compare it logically – empire And via spider-verse Significantly darker than their predecessors, both films extend their predecessors’ world-building, themes, and character development, and both end with their protagonists in dire predicaments before the grand finale.
However, as many have already pointed out, the sequel does via spider-verse It can be said that a lot in common with Ho The Matrix Reloaded. Even setting aside the fact that both films function as the first part of a two-part epilogue, both are much larger than their predecessors, expanding on the lore of their universe to the point of deconstruction. Both end up with a lot of what we thought we knew in the first installment upside down; Neo and Miles Morales learn that their role as the protagonist in their story is shaky at best and manipulated at worst.
Nearly two decades later, there is still general agreement on this Reloadedtracking , Matrix Revolutions, didn’t quite accept the ideas he created, and the result was a finale that counters the climax of that chapter of Neo’s story. but, Behind the spider verse He has a chance to learn from these mistakes and provide some kind of satisfying conclusion revolutions wanted to achieve it.
Neo’s fight for free will
From the beginning matrix franchise, the themes of fate and free will were front and center. but Reloaded Really having these ideas front and center, especially in the climax. Neo meets the Architect, creator of the Matrix, who reveals to him that his status as the hero destined to end the war behind machines and humans, was built on a lie.
In fact, Neo is VI The first, and the role he is destined to play, which involves sacrificing himself while allowing the human colony of Zion to be destroyed without a handful of survivors, is a way to perpetuate the functioning of the Matrix in a continuous cycle of creation and destruction.
This upended everything we had expected about the way the trilogy would play out; This will not be a direct casting of the narrative story. Learning that Neo’s role in the story was predetermined and that his only way forward is to rebel against this prophecy and act on his own free will puts the pieces in place for an exciting conclusion to his story.
Unfortunately, revolutions He did not fulfill this promise. most questions Reloaded Raised as being either dropped or given half-hearted ambiguous answers, the series’ thought-provoking philosophical ideas were largely abandoned in favor of action sequences.
The Wachowskis were clearly aiming for a conclusion where Neo creates his own meaning in his story, choosing to continue the fight against Agent Smith even if his purpose doesn’t necessarily dictate it and allow free will to direct him. This is an impressive story concept, but unfortunately the execution felt underdeveloped and rushed, with the feeling that little in the war between man and machine was actually resolved.
Miles chooses his own path
via spider-verse Similar plot beats follow as Reloaded, particularly with the role Miguel O’Hara believes Miles Morales is destined to play in his story. Since Miles was never meant to become Spider-Man, O’Hara views him as the “original anomaly” and is responsible for disrupting the Multiverse and their “canonical events”. As such, he believes that allowing the predetermined death of Miles’ father to unfold is the only way to keep the multiverse intact.
Understandably, Miles is terrified that this could be allowed to happen. And so, even as he ends the movie trapped in the wrong universe, he nonetheless ends determined to dictate the path his story should take without letting anyone else in his life dictate how things should go.
This raises an interesting question Behind the spider verse to solve. Does disrupting a canon event necessarily lead to the collapse of the universe? As we now understand in In the spider versethe fact that the spider from Earth-42 bit Miles led to the death of his homeworld Peter Parker, and the ensuing chaos with the supercollider, creating a speck.
even still, via spider-verse He shows us that good things also came from Miles being bitten. Peter P. Parker has his life back on track, and Miles’ experiences with Gwen encourage her to be more open to her father, who has willingly chosen to resign as chief of police, potentially saving his life.
As such, the disruption of a canon event may not inherently mean certain doom. All of these thoughts relate to Miles’ emotional journey. As this is the middle chapter of his coming-of-age story, he must question all he’s learned and forge his own destiny.
Spider-verse can stick to the landing
The Wachowskis’ ambition with Reloaded And revolutions It was awesome. They wanted to deconstruct the traditional hero’s journey and explore true heroism in fighting against one’s destiny, even if it seems predetermined.
Sadly, they came up short, as their ideas felt rushed and underdeveloped, and Neo’s journey action figure took a backseat to action. On the other side, spider verse Writers and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are known for their commitment to quality control.
Since they clearly want to explore many of the same thematic concepts as the Wachowskis, their track record and sheer dedication to keeping Miles Morales’ emotional journey front and center inspires great confidence that they can deliver a film that caters to these ambitious ideas and brings a satisfying conclusion to their trilogy.
