As soon as Hobie Brown, a.k.a. Spider-Punk, casually strutted onto the screen in last year's sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, he was an instant hit. That charming swagger, rebellious attitude, and ridiculously cool outfit all aided him in becoming a fan-favorite – Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya's brilliant performance as the punk rocker also helped.
But it turns out Kaluuya wasn't the only voice actor who helped bring Spider-Punk to life, as GamesRadar+ recently learned during our chat with the film's composer Daniel Pemberton ahead of the UK premiere of the live concert version of the movie. When discussing Across the Spider-Verse, Pemberton revealed that he actually recorded ADR lines for the character when the filmmakers needed a quick turnaround but Kaluuya wasn't available.
And he may have even teased he will be doing the same for upcoming sequel Beyond the Spider-Verse too, although he's keeping his lips sealed on any further details: "It’s funny because I have played Spider-Punk in Across the Spider-Verse and I might have recorded some lines for him in the new one. In that basically no one on the animation team can do an English accent and I’ve been roped in sometimes to do ADR for Spider-Verse when they can’t get the other Daniel [Kaluuya] because they need something really quickly and they are like 'oh can you do it'."
Pemberton continues: "I’m terrible but that’s the shortage of English ADR actors in Culver City [California] it turns out. So, I have a soft spot for Spider-Punk and if there’s more of him – I’ve been sworn to secrecy about the next film - but I’ve been badgering if there’s stuff set in Spider-Punk’s British world I would like a voice cameo for like two seconds." I guess we should keep our eyes peeled then.
With the upcoming live concerts, Pemberton will soon be living out his Spider-Punk dreams on the stage too as he describes them as being like "rock gigs". For the London date, Pemberton will be joining the orchestra performing alongside them playing various instruments including a very special Spider-Punk themed electric guitar, designed by the film's art department.
It's something he's very excited about: "I do get to live out a low level rock fantasy by placing a special guitar which you can see here [shows us the guitar via Zoom]. This is a secret that hasn’t been announced but this is a Spider-Punk guitar designed by the art department." We can confirm it is indeed very awesome.
Unfortunately though for the composer he won't be looking cool the entire time as another instrument he will be playing is his face. Yes, you did read that right – Pemberton will have to slap himself for several minutes as part of the performance too. As he reveals though, it's all his own doing as it's part of the score: "That’s countered by the fact I have to slap my face for four minutes and look like an idiot in front of people. That’s not really how I envisioned my film composing career going but it’s quite funny and it’s what happens in the score – so, I gotta do it live."
The Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in concert world premiere will take place in London on June 30, followed by a UK-wide tour in September.
For all the latest on upcoming sequel, check out our guide to everything we know about Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
