Eagle-eyed fans have spotted an Insomniac Easter egg in the newly released animated movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It was expected many fans to look out for a reference from the developers of the Spider-Man video game franchise, but the Easter egg in the movie is even more special than a simple reference.
SPOILERS AHEAD It appears that 2023 is the year of Miles Morales, as the character is prominent in both Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, now playing in theaters, and in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is confirmed for a fall release this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse, the critically acclaimed box office hit that introduced the non-comic book reading world to the character of Miles Morales. The original movie was known for its rapid-fire Easter eggs, and its sequel is no different, presenting a new Easter egg every few minutes.
Toward the beginning of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles runs into a new supervillain called The Spot, an unimposing “villain of the week” that is eventually webbed up by Miles, who is trying to rush to a school meeting that he can’t be late for. After webbing the new villain up, Miles interacts with the only person who knows his true identity, his best friend Ganke Lee, asking him to keep an eye on the tied-up Spot. During the scene, Ganke is clearly playing a PS5 game, and as the camera pushes in slowly, it’s revealed that he’s playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
What’s funny about this scene is that Ganke tells Miles that he’s not his “guy in the chair,” a modern superhero reference for being a sidekick, even though judging by the trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Ganke is clearly Miles’ “guy in the chair.” Also, there’s the irony of Ganke playing a game that features himself.
Even though posters for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hinted at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Easter eggs, it’s safe to say that not many fans saw actual gameplay being a possibility in the movie. Although there is some contention from viewers if the footage is clearly from Spider-Man 2 or not, one Reddit user explained that he saw Spider-Man use a finisher with his new iron spider suit and also referenced seeing “web nunchucks.”
The Spider-Man 2 gameplay is not the only Easter egg from Insomniac’s Spider-Man world, as the Spider-Man from the game series is featured quickly in the movie and is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal himself, according to IMDB. One thing is for sure, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse gives Insomniac plenty of new suit options for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is in theaters now.