Across the Spider-Verse bosses on why key character was essential to the movie
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has introduced to the screen one of the coolest cinematic Spideys with Daniel Kaluuya's Hobie Brown aka Spider-Punk.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Across the Spider-Verse writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller explained how the mohawk-rocking character became crucial to the movie once they met with the Get Out star.
"He was in and out of the picture for a little while because we weren't sure which elements we were going to stick in this part and which were going to migrate to the next movie," Lord said.
"When we met Daniel Kaluuya, we realized that he had to be Hobie Brown, no matter the cost. And Hobie had to be in the movie because that personality needed to be part of the story."
Related: Across the Spider-Verse cut a Spider-Man being held by a human hand
After their meeting, Lord and Miller rewrote the character to make it fit better within the sequel.
"Some people were like, 'Is there a way to simplify this? There's so many characters. Do we really need Spider-Punk?'" Miller recalled.
"But once we got to know Daniel, we rewrote the part so it became more necessary."
And the rest is history, with Hobie quickly becoming a fan favourite.
"The challenge is that Miles is a really cool character — one of the coolest Spider-Men that you can think of," Miller said. "Coming up with a character who is even cooler somehow is a really fun challenge."
Hobie was so cool that the film's directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers wanted him to provide Miles with a laidback, anti-authority role model.
"He's a catalyst for so many things in this movie, which is why I think he ended up being such a breakout star," Powers explained. "No matter how cool the character design looks, he really earned his way into this film because every character has to be in service of Miles' story."
Related: Across the Spider-Verse has two different versions in cinemas
Sadly, it isn't clear when Spidey lovers will get to meet Hobie or protagonist Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as the threequel, titled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, has been delayed indefinitely amidst the current joint WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is available to buy from Prime Video, iTunes, Microsoft Store and more.
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