By Ron Wynn
Daniel Kaluuya is becoming part of the Marvel universe. The Oscar winner this week joined the cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a sequel to the groundbreaking “Into the Spider-Verse” which also nabbed an Academy Award. He will be voicing the role of Hobart “Hobie” Brown, a.k.a. Spider-Punk.
The film follows Miles Morales as Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, plunged into the multiverse where he joins forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-folks to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered. Additional cast includes Shameik Moore as Miles; Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099; Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen, Brian Tyree Henry as Miles’ dad Jefferson Davis; Luna Lauren Velez as Miles’ mom Rio Morales; Issa Rae as Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman; Jorma Taccone as Vulture; Rachel Dratch; Shea Whigham; Greta Lee; and Jason Schwartzman as Spot
The trio of Justin K. Thompson, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Kemp Powers are directing, as well as executive producing alongside Aditya Sood. Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Christina Steinberg are producing. Lord and Miller will also be credited as writers on the film, along with David Callaham. The film is currently set for release on June 2, 2023, with a third installment already dated for March 29, 2024.
Kaluuya won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in “Judas and the Black Messiah” and was nominated for his breakout performance in Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Additional credits include “Nope,” “Queen & Slim,” “Black Panther” and “Widows.” He will make his feature writing debut with Netflix’s upcoming dystopian thriller “The Kitchen,” and is set to star in and produce “The Upper World” at the streamer, based on the novel by Femi Fadugba. Kaluuya is repped by Entertainment 360, B-Side, Johnson Shapiro Slewett and Kole, and R&CPMK. Dos Santos is repped by UTA.
