It’s been three years since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse opened in theaters, and fans are starting to get impatient while waiting for the third and final film in the trilogy. How impatient, you ask? One individual recently went out of their way to leak unfinished footage from the film online, setting the project’s co-writer, Chris Miller, on edge.
“Not a fan of unfinished, not fully rendered footage,” Miller posted online.
I can’t blame him. Sharing unfinished footage from a film of this magnitude could damage people’s perception of the final product. You’d think fans would know better, but you’d be surprised by how ignorant some can be about what’s complete and what’s still a work in progress. Additionally, the Spider-Verse films feature a variety of animation styles. Some may misconstrue the unfinished art as part of the final film. You can roll your eyes if you want, but never underestimate people’s tendency not to think beyond what’s in front of them.
This isn’t an isolated incident, either. The Beyond the Spider-Verse leak feels all too reminiscent of when the full version of The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender leaked online. Despite a few unpolished elements, the entire film was shared online by a “fan” seemingly frustrated by Paramount’s decision not to release it in theaters and to opt for a streaming release instead. Following the leak, animator Julia Schoel, who worked on the film, took to social media to express her thoughts, saying, “We worked on the aang movie for years with the expectation that’d we’d get to celebrate all of our hard work in theaters, just to see people unceremoniously leak the film and pass our shots around on twitter like candy.”
While the new leak only shares a few minutes of the upcoming film, it’s enough to frustrate those who’ve spent the past several years pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into the production. I visit a lot of animation studios, thanks to my work for JoBlo, and seeing the amount of hard work that goes into making films like Beyond the Spider-Verse changes your perspective on the movie-making process. The idea of someone leaking footage early out of some entitled impatience is unreal, and I hope Miles Morales’ next adventure doesn’t encounter any more setbacks before its official release.