Miles Morales is officially back, albeit in a much shorter form this time. As announced last week, Sony Pictures Entertainment released The Spider-Within: A Spider-Verse Story for free on their YouTube channel for all to see today. The around 7-minute film, which follows Miles’s struggles with anxiety as he juggles his many responsibilities as a superhero and a teenager with friends, family, and studies, was made available as part of a partnership to raise funds for the Kevin Love Fund, a non-profit formed by NBA star Kevin Love to help destigmatize mental health challenges and provide the resources to ensure anyone going through them can thrive.
Debuting at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year, The Spider Within sees Miles (Shameik Moore) face the insidious and all-too-common foe that is anxiety following a panic attack when the full weight of his responsibilities finally comes crashing down on him. The moment forces him to address the manifestations of his struggles and seek help from those around him, specifically his father, Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry). It’s meant as a showcase of how even the strongest and bravest heroes can face the same mental health struggles that millions of people go through every day and emphasizes the courage and importance of reaching out to those around us.
The superhero short isn’t afraid to get a little scary in its depiction of Miles’s subconscious, with horrifying specters serving as representations of the web-slinger’s anxiety that he struggles to defeat through his powers alone. In making his challenges feel insurmountable through web-slinging alone, the short also showcases one of his greatest powers — a supportive system around him willing to help build him back up in his time of need.
A product of Sony Pictures Imageworks as part of the LENS (Leading and Empowering New Storytellers) mentorship program, the film hails from director Jarelle Dampier and writer Khaila Amazan, the former of whom said the goal was to encourage those deep and difficult conversations with those close to us while also honoring Miles as a character. Reviews following its Annecy and Animation Is Film Festival appearances were widely positive, with Collider‘s Ross Bonaime recently giving it an 8/10 when the short dropped on YouTube.
What’s Next for the Spider-Verse After ‘The Spider Within’?
The Spider Within gives fans of Miles a heartfelt bit of content to tide them over amid what could be a long wait for the final installment of the Spider-Verse trilogy, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Originally set to go wide this Friday, the animated film was removed from the release schedule last year, and indefinitely delayed with a 2025 debut likely in the cards. When it arrives, though, there is much to look forward to following the cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Plenty more Spiders are set to show up in Miles’s final adventure according to writers and producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, including the original trio of Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage).
Until Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out, The Spider Within will be available for free on YouTube through the Sony Pictures Entertainment YouTube channel. Check out the full short below and visit the official website of the Kevin Love Fund for more information about what they do in the fight for mental health and how to support their work.
Watch The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story below.
via Collider