Move over, Peter Parker: why live-action Spider-Man should go all in on Miles Morales

It’s Miles Morales’ multiverse – and we’re just living in it. The increasingly popular Spider-Man, first introduced as part of Marvel’s Ultimate comics universe in the early 2010s, has Across the Spider-Verse on the way – and a starring role in Insomniac’s Spider-Man PS5 sequel later this year. If you believe Sony producer Amy Pascal, a live-action Miles Morales movie could be next.

Out of the three, it’s the live-action project which sets my Spidey-Senses tingling. Yes, there is the argument that Miles Morales already has his own space with the trilogy of Spider-Verse movies, but Miles finally deserves to swing into live-action – so he, and whoever plays him, can be a Spider-Man for a whole new generation of budding webheads in the same way Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have been.

That’s not to say Spider-Man 4 with Tom Holland is a bad idea. Far from it. No Way Home’s decision to essentially reboot the franchise with a back-to-basics approach should be commended. Yet, Peter Parker feels a little played out by this point on the big screen. Unless you’re going for a new spin on the character – a college-age Peter, a leader of the Avengers, or body-swapping with Doc Ock all spring to mind – then it just makes sense to build out Miles’ legacy instead.

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Miles already has all the tools that could make the leap to live-action: a fun powerset, including invisibility, and a genuinely cool, non-tryhard personality already make him stand out. The fact he has to deal with a supervillain uncle adds a much more personal touch to proceedings.

It also offers Sony a clear-cut way to separate the convoluted Spider-Man/MCU situation and start afresh with their own stories and ideas without having to work around whatever Kevin Feige has planned. Even if Miles gets integrated into the MCU, that’s still exciting. Imagine crossovers with Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, or Moon Knight. Whoever you bounce Miles off, his infectious character would tease out something new from them. It would also potentially reinvent Tom Holland’s Peter Parker as a mentor-of-sorts for a Spidey-in-training.

It shouldn’t go unnoticed that it would also be a major win for representation to see Miles Morales zipping about in not one but two major movie franchises.

So, yes, the time is right to go all-in on Miles Morales as Spider-Man. That includes a live-action movie. After all, the Spider-Verse is big enough for more than one wallcrawler.

For more, check out our guide to new superhero movies, plus our ranking of the best Spider-Man movies.