This year's blockbuster sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse followed in the footsteps of the original film by once again pushing the boundaries of both storytelling and animation. As we joined our hero Miles Morales and co. on another adventure, we visited numerous dimensions including one which was rather brilliantly made with Lego.
But as director trio Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Justin K. Thompson told us in a recent interview, originally there wasn't a Lego dimension – instead in its place was one filled with "crazy aliens" and more. However, when you are working with filmmaker duo Lord and Miller, who helmed 2014's beloved animated feature The Lego Movie, you just have to include Lego somewhere in the film. And so, when the pair, who were on-board here as writers and producers, suggested this, the directors knew exactly who should animate the scene.
That person was Preston Mutanga, a 14-year-old whose fan-made Lego version of the trailer for the film had previously gone viral. He was quite simply the perfect choice, although it certainly did raise some questions as Santos explained to 12DOVE: "When Phil and Chris mentioned the idea, we said the kid should make it! Their reaction was asking – "Is that legal?" We decided to find out and had our producer track him down, but he didn't believe at first it was the film studio reaching out to him! We gave him the assignment and Chris Miller worked closely with him on it."
Of course, given that Mutanga is a teenager, he's still at school, so had to fit his animating sessions in around his studies. For co-director Thompson though, that is just in the spirit of Spider-Man: "I remember his parents made sure that he got his homework done too, so he was finishing shots over spring break and getting them done after his school work. A 14-year-old kid doing that, that's a true Spider-Man. It's so creative and for me, that's the magic of what these films do."
The final scene is wonderfully animated and as Powers neatly sums up – "really fun". He also pointed out a neat Easter egg to us, saying that Lego Spider-Man is the only one Oscar Isaac's Miguel O'Hara, chief of the Spider-Society, actually respects: "It was great how many people in the audience picked up on Miguel saying, 'Thanks Peter you are one of our best'. He's the only Spider-Person that Miguel compliments!"
That seems appropriate given that the character was animated by such an incredible, young talent. We can't wait to see what Mutanga does next!
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is out now to buy or rent on digital.
For more on the movie, check out our interviews with composer Daniel Pemberton, star Shameik Moore, and actor Daniel Kaluuya.
