Why Phil Lord and Chris Miller originally rejected the chance to work on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Alongside co-directors Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, and Bob Persichetti, The Lego Movie directors (and Solo cast-offs, though we don’t talk about that) Phil Lord and Chris Miller are undoubtedly the driving force behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse. But, as Persichetti tells our sister publication SFX magazine, it very nearly didn’t happen that way as Lord and Miller outright didn’t want to do the movie… at first.

“Their response was ‘No, thank you’ because, erm, ‘Why?’” Persichetti says. Maybe they were hesitant to be typecast as animation guys or were simply feeling a little sore off the back of Solo, but those four words must have felt like a dagger through the heart of Spidey fans everywhere. Of course, that’s not how the story ended.

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“Then they thought about it and said ‘You know what, we’re interested in it if we can make it about Miles Morales, and if we can introduce the idea of the multiverse, and really push the visuals to a place where no one questions the decision to make another Spider-Man.’”

Does that sound familiar? That’s because those hallmarks all make it into the finished product. So, it seems like less of a case of Lord and Miller not wanting to do it, and more about them wanting it done right before committing to anything. Though I’m sure their original response gave them a bit of creative leeway when it came to a second pitch.

Still, a parallel universe exists out there where Lord and Miller didn’t get involved in Into the Spider Verse, we didn’t get a Miles Morales-focused movie, and the multiverse was nothing more than an un-filmable pipe dream. Now that would have been the darkest timeline.

Find out more about the story behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse before its release in the latest issue of SFX and be sure to subscribe so you never miss out on an issue!

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.