Sony Pictures Trying to Patent ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Animation Technique

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has challenged a lot of people’s pre-conceived notions about animated movies, and it looks like that’s having some lasting effects.

A recent article from Deadline mentioned that Sony Pictures Animation is attempting to patent Spider-Verse‘s unique blend of animation, which utilizes a mix of CG images and hand-drawn art. This comes from a report that Deadline made prior to the film’s release, about how six different patent protections had been sent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

While it’s currently unclear if Sony will successfully receive those patents, the initial requests argued that the tools used to create Spider-Verse‘s hybrid of animation are a “distinctly new invention”. And considering the sentiment that those behind the scenes have, it’s easy to see where the patent requests are coming from.

“This is a situation where the movie was so ambitious, it was trying to do so many groundbreaking things in its visual style, in its storytelling style, in its cinematic style.” producer Chris Miller explained to ComicBook.com. “Everything about it … The sound mix was probably going to be groundbreaking, so it required a lot of work. Every version of these movies is a collaboration of hundreds of filmmakers working together, and in the best versions people are contributing their creative ideas, and the people, the directors, and the producers are the ones that get to decide which of the things fit the road that you’re going down.”

Of course, the fact that two additional films in the Spider-Verse franchise are currently in the works adds a whole other level to these patent requests. The films, whic would be a proper sequel focusing on Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles’ (Shameik Moore) relationship, a female-led spinoff involving Gwen, Spider-Woman, and Silk, would take the franchise to new heights in one way or another.

“Oh my goodness. To be a part of this and play this strong female superhero, in this film particularly, is quite a privilege,” Steinfeld said in a recent interview. “The thought of a spinoff is incredible. If that were to ever happen, I would be honored to be a part of it. I would love that opportunity. Anything to do something like this again with these people would be an honor.”

“I remember seeing her for the first time and feeling like this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Steinfeld said. “And it was one of those things where you hear about the directors were so excited about how she was coming together, and the color scheme of her outfits, her look as a whole… I was hearing all about it. It was one of those things where I was like, ok, now they’re going to show me a sketch and I’m going to have to act like it’s great… And sure enough when they showed it to me… like I said, this is the coolest thing ever, and too bad this isn’t live-action, because I wish I actually look like that.”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is in theaters now.