Spider-Man Faces His Most Relatable Foe Yet In ‘The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story,’ Now Free To Watch On Youtube

With great power comes great responsibility, and Sony Pictures Animation is using its most powerful property in an extremely responsible way with its new short film The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, which was released today on YouTube.

Unspooling in the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse universe(s), the short does away with the reality-saving stakes that Miles Morales faces in his feature films and instead pits the young Spider-Man against a far more relatable foe, anxiety.

Overwhelmed by the duties of his alter ego, his studies at a prestigious private school, and his crush on a girl from another universe, Miles has a panic attack that manifests in truly terrifying ways.

The short was developed and produced as part of SPA and Sony Pictures Imageworks Leading and Empowering New Storytellers program. A nine-month leadership training event, LENS supports filmmakers from underrepresented groups.

The Spider Within is directed by Jarelle Dampier and written by Khaila Amazan. Clara Chan served as vfx supervisor and Joe Darko was animation supervisor. The short is produced by LENS program creators Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg.

Like the feature films from the franchise, The Spider Within breaks down conventional animation walls and utilizes comic book tropes to tell its story in a dynamic way that is, at times, as frightening for the viewer as for the short’s protagonist.

The Spider Within is produced by Sony Pictures Animation with the Kevin Love Fun as part of a larger mental health focused lesson plan for teenage students, “The Heo Within.” Through the program, kids are invited to share their own stories via an interactive curriculum, including a creative storyboard activity.