Popverse's top stories

• Minneapolis comic & bookstore owner Greg Ketter emerges as a symbol of protest against ICE actions
• Wonder Man is the Andor of Marvel Studios’ modern TV series on Disney+
• With Marvel Tokon, Wolverine, and 1943: Rise of Hydra, 2026 will either be the best year for Marvel Games, or the most disappointing [Gamify My Life]

As a Marvel Comics reader, one of my favorite parts of the Spider-Verse movies is seeing some decently obscure Spidey characters have their moments in the spotlight even among non-comic-reading crowds (true story - my father gifted me a collection of OG Spider-Ham comics for my 13th birthday). So after Across the Spider-Verse came out, you can imagine that I was delighted to hear of people finding out about the badass that is Spider-Punk. But here's the thing - fan reaction to the character (voiced by Get Out's Daniel Akluuya) didn't just warm the heart of yours truly. It also lead to the currently in-development spinoff.

At least, that's the way Kaluuya himself tells it. Speaking with Deadline in an article published December 7, the Black Panther actor credits the fact that fan reaction to Hobie Brown was "so intense" as the deciding factor to getting the spinoff made. I guess the only thing is - the fan reaction wasn't intense enough to get the movie made immediately. You'll recall that there's been almost no news about the film since it was announced in August, and with Sony's now-infamous wait-times for Spider-movies, we don't expect a release date for quite some time yet.

That said, Kaluuya did offer those joyfully reactive fans a teensy bit of an update in regards to the film: that is, that he and cowriter Ajon Singh are in the "finishing stages" of the script's first draft. What's in that script, though, is a topic Kaluuya's staying entirely silent on, not even revealing if other Spider-Verse characters will make an appearance.

And honestly? More power to you, Daniel. At a time when movie trailers reveal entire plotlines months before the film's actual release, keeping your audience in suspense is...

Well, pretty punk rock of you.

Marvel's most reliable superhero has proven he can do a whole lot more than just 'whatever a spider can.' Swing into Spidey's history with Popverse's...

• Best Spider-Man comic books 
• Spider-Man movie watch order
• Spider-Man's actors, ranked
• and the Spider-verse explained!

Just watch out for that radioactive blood.