Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse writer Dan Slott reveals last-minute change that led to blockbuster success

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was one of 2023's biggest hits. Being an acclaimed tale about Miles Morales attempting to defy fate as the entire Spider-Verse has it out for him, the film made full use of the cross-over, featuring the coming together of numerous Spider-Men from throughout the multiverse. In doing so, the filmmakers received assistance from long-time comic book writer Dan Slott, who helped with the story.

In a recent interview with The Popverse, Slott revealed how his notes influenced Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's blockbuster success and how he helped filmmakers play by the rules they had created. Given that Slott is a writer who is familiar with the Spider-Verse, his observations undoubtedly benefited the film.

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Dan Slott's notes helped Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

One of the most compelling plot points in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is how Miles Morales was not supposed to become Spider-Man. Miles' transformation into the Webhead was an unintended consequence of being bitten by the spider from Earth-42. This plot twist was conceived by writer Dan Slott, who laid the groundwork for it.

"If you follow this further down the rabbit hole, that implies that's a spider that shouldn't have bit anyone from Earth-1610, which means that the Chris Pine Spider-Man was their one and only Spider-Man. Miles was never meant to get bit. When Miles got bit, he went back for the spider," Slott said.

As we all know, Dan Slott wrote a Spider-Verse-related comic book and is fairly educated on the concept itself. Being a consultant on the film, he helped change many aspects of it that shaped the story. In his interview with Popverse, Slott revealed how it was his note that shaped the idea of the spider that bit Miles being from an alternate dimension. He said:

"I said to them in a note that the spider that bit Miles glitched. That meant by your rules, it had to come from another dimension. They didn't have this. They just thought it looked cool to have the spider glitch in the first movie."

Slott added,

"I said to them, the spider glitched, that means the spider came from another dimension, that means Alchemax pulled it through the collider, that means if it had a number 42 on it, someone from Alchemax put 42 on it, which means it's the spider from Earth-42."

Surely enough, this note puts into perspective how Miles' journey was set up for the film. Seeing as to how his entire story is about going against fate, it's good to see that Slott is still very much involved given his experience with the Spider-Verse.

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Another note by the American comic book writer that drastically transformed the film

Slott also revealed that this wasn't the only note he gave on the film and that he helped shape the dramatic reveal during the climax as well. The finale of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sees Miles end up on Earth-42 rather than his universe. The film's biggest reveal, that Miles ended up on a different dimension, was caused by his DNA combining with that of the Earth-42 spider that bit him.

However, that sequence was to play quite differently in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse until Slott came in and gave notes about how it could be more dramatic. Originally, the film wasn't going to explicitly state that Miles was on Earth-42, but that changed due to Slott's note. In the same interview, Slott stated:

"The second Uncle Aaron shows up, you need to flash on the screen Earth-42 even though you show it on that monitor, but that's only for the people paying attention. You need to make sure that the eight-year-olds who are watching this aren't lost. You need to flash Earth-42 on the screen, and the second you cut back to Gwen, you need to put the editor note, still on Earth-1610.' That's what we would do in the comics."

If anything, it's fair to say that Slott's involvement in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse surely helped make the film and Miles' story seem more dramatic.