Daniel Kaluuya Joins The Cast Of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse As Spider-Punk

The animated superhero film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," which was directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman (who co-wrote the screenplay with Phil Lord), became a huge hit after its December 2018 release. The film follows Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who, after he gets bitten by a radioactive spider, transforms into Spider-Man. Miles then meets Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), the Spider-Man from another dimension who becomes Miles's reluctant mentor. The voice cast also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Zoë Kravitz, and Kathryn Hahn.

The film was a massive success; it currently holds a near-perfect 97% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 93% audience score. Further, it made over $375.5 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). And to top it off, the film also received a slew of award nominations including earning an Oscar win for best animated feature.

Naturally, a sequel was inevitable, and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is slated to be released in June 2023. And as if the film wasn't already highly anticipated enough, a major star has just been added to the cast: Daniel Kaluuya.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Kaluuya has been added to the cast of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," slated to voice the character of Hobart "Hobie" Brown, aka Spider-Punk. Very few plot details are known about the upcoming film, but we do know that Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore, reprising his role from the first film) reteams with Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), as well as a slew of other Spider-People, to work together in bringing down a powerful villain. Spider-Punk, who was created in 2015 by writer Dan Slott and artist Olivier Coipel, is a homeless teenager and superhero who works to protect oppressed citizens of New York.

Kalyuua has been quite busy in recent years, ever since his breakout role in Jordan Peele's 2017 horror film "Get Out" (which earned him an Oscar nomination). Since then, Kalyuua has starred in films such as 2018's "Black Panther," 2018's "Widows" and 2021's "Judas and the Black Messiah," the latter of which earned him his first Oscar win for best supporting actor. Most recently, Kalyuua starred in Peele's most recent filmmaking endeavor, 2022's "Nope."

Other new actors who have joined "Across the Spider-Verse" include Issa Rae, Rachel Dratch, Joma Taccone, Shea Whigham, and Jason Schwartzman. Further, Oscar Isaac's character, Miguel O'Hara aka Spider-Man 2099, had a cameo in the first film and is returning for a more fleshed-out role in the sequel. Other voice actors reprising their roles include Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, and Greta Lee.

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" will be released on June 2, 2023.