Brooklyn Nine-Nine star and member of The Lonely Island Andy Samberg has joined the ranks of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Revealed courtesy of the official Instagram account of The Lonely Island, which shared an image from the movie alongside the caption "Jorm and Andy are "in" this!!,” details of who Samberg will voice remain a mystery. But many have already theorized that it will be a particular Spider-Man of the scarlet variety...
Samberg joins fellow The Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone in the animated sequel, who has been confirmed as providing the voice for Spider-Man supervillain the Vulture. As for Samberg, could he be playing Ben Reilly aka Scarlet Spider?
This announcement comes quickly following Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse co-director Joaquim Dos Santos recent tease regarding who will voice the Scarlet Spider. "I can't wait for people to hear who voices him. [The actor's identity] still hasn't been released, but I love our Scarlet Spider actor,” he said. “Not even the actors know! Everyone is sworn to secrecy, and they record alone, so most of them are discovering with the public who is in the film they've been making. Their reactions have been pretty hilarious." So, is Samberg the actor he was talking about? No doubt we’ll find out soon.
Created by writer Gerry Conway for Marvel Comics back in 1975, Ben Reilly rose to prominence after featuring in the infamous Clone Saga storyline in the 1990s. A genetic clone of Peter Parker, Reilly possesses a similar power-set to Parker and emerges as the superhero The Scarlet Spider. Despite a rocky start, the character has since become something of a fan-favorite, and it’s not too difficult to imagine Samberg’s voice emanating from beneath the mask.
Andy Samberg Joins an All-Star Cast in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Samberg joins an already stacked cast for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which sees Shameik Moore once again taking the lead as Miles Morales, with Hailee Steinfeld, and Jake Johnson also set to reprise their respective roles as Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman, and Peter B. Parker aka Spider-Man. The rest of the Spider-Force includes Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara aka Spider-Man 2099, a Spider-Man from an alternate universe set in the year 2099 and leader of the Spider-Force; Issa Rae as Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, a pregnant Spider-Woman; Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar aka Spider-Man India, an Indian version of Spider-Man from a universe known as Mumbattan; and Daniel Kaluuya as Hobart "Hobie" Brown aka Spider-Punk.
The rest of the supporting cast includes Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis, Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales, Shea Whigham as George Stacy, and Jason Schwartzman as Jonathan Ohnn aka The Spot.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse begins with Miles Morales reuniting with Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman, before quickly finding himself catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero, so he can save the people he loves most.
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson from a screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled to be released on June 2, 2023.