Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was certainly filled with several versions of the hero. However, the fan-favorite Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk, almost didn't make the cut. Luckily, executive producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord fought to include the cool iteration of the superhero, and it was all because they met Daniel Kaluuya.
Chris Miller and Phil Lord recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and they both confirmed that meeting Daniel Kaluuya was a game-changer.
"Some people were like, 'Is there a way to simplify this? There's so many characters. Do we really need Spider-Punk?'" Miller said. "But once we got to know Daniel, we rewrote the part so it became more necessary."
Lord agreed with Miller on the decision to include Spider-Punk in the animated sequel.
"[Spider-Punk] was in and out of the picture for a little while because we weren't sure which elements we were going to stick in this part and which were going to migrate to the next movie," Lord said. "When we met Daniel Kaluuya, we realized that he had to be Hobie Brown, no matter the cost. And Hobie had to be in the movie because that personality needed to be part of the story."
Who is Hobie Brown in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?
Spider-Punk, also known as Hobart Brown, made his debut in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 #10 in 2015. He was later featured in his first solo comic book mini-series in 2022, scripted by Cody Ziglar and illustrated by Justin Mason. In the 2014-2015 Spider-Verse storyline, the Spider-Man of Earth-138 assumes the identity of Spider-Punk. Hobart, a homeless teenager, gains his powers after being bitten by a spider contaminated by President Norman Osborne's toxic waste dumping. Notably, Daniel Kaluuya lends his voice to Spider-Punk in Across the Spider-Verse, marking the character's first appearance in a film adaptation.
Hobie Brown is expected to return in the third installment of the Spider-Verse film series. In the meantime, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now available on digital and will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray on September 5, 2023.
