Into The Spider-Verse: The Spider-Ham Line That Was Cut For Being Too Dark
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" is a film everyone in the family can enjoy, but it turns out that some of the ideas that were recorded for the film aren't quite as lighthearted as the material contained within the finished product. In this case, a bit of dialogue regarding the past of Spider-Ham (John Mulaney) proved to be a little too dark to risk offending consumers.
While speaking with ReelBlend Podcast in June 2023, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" co-writers (and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" co-producers) Phil Lord and Christopher Miller talked about lines that were kept in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" for a good chunk of time until they were chopped out. Miller recalled that there was a scene where the Spider-People compare notes about their lost uncles and family members. And Spider-Ham's story about losing a relative proved to be just a tad too brutal to be kept in the final product.
"He [Spider-Ham] talked about how he had a relative that had been turned into bacon," Lord explained. His writing partner, Miller, then tried to ascertain how the elder member of Porker's family kicked the bucket. "Electrocuted, right?" he said, leading them to simultaneously share the joke's punchline: "He smelled delicious." Lord then recalled that it was Porker's uncle who was the subject of the salty rib tickler. It didn't make it into the film, though one of the film's producers fought to retain the joke.
Christopher Miller wanted to keep the line in
Christopher Miller admitted that he wanted to keep the edgy line in the film, but was ultimately talked out of it. He and Phil Lord also reminded fans of one envelope-pushing joke that did make it into the movie, revisiting the long-ago revelation they made when the movie first came out in 2019. When Spider-Ham is seen for the last time in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" he's eating a hot dog. The revelation? Spider-Ham isn't eating a pork hotdog — the foodstuff is made entirely from human flesh in his world.
While both the cannibalism reference and Peter Porker's joke about his delicious-smelling uncle never made it into the movie — and it's unknown if either line made it beyond the scripting stage and was presented to John Mulaney for voice-acting purposes — they did admit that one bit of dialogue was actually added to the film to give Spider-Ham more heft as a character. In a quest to keep him from coming off as a single-joke entity, the character was given the weighty line, "Miles, the hardest part of this job is that you can't always save everyone." It's definitely a moment that gives the goofy character gravitas — and continues to explain why Spider-Ham remains such a beloved part of the Spider-Verse.