Spider-Verse Star Says He'll be "Heartbroken" if He Isn't Back for Sequel

Though he previously teased that he "believed" he would be back for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel, Peter B. Parker himself Jake Johnson really hopes it all works out. Speaking in a new interview, Johnson was asked if he was coming back for the follow-up and noted he'd be "heartbroken' if he didn't return. "I sure hope so," Johnson revealed to The Daily Beasts' The Last Laugh podcast. "I'll be pretty heartbroken if I don't get to play Peter B. Parker again. He's a character who- I don't think his story's over. I would like to know what happens to him."

Johnson opened up further about his time on the first film, praising the writing and the creative talent behind the project. "That was one of the best written pieces I've ever had," Johnson said. "I would show up to record and I would read the pages and it was one of those things where I just felt really honored that they picked me to do that. That wasn't one where I felt like 'I'm here to help find it.' It was there, I just had to deliver it. And that was a really neat experience to see a monologue and go 'Man that's really touching, who wrote this? Who this this? It's really good.'....I had really high expectations of it and when I saw it, it just blew me away. I really love it. It's one of the things I'm most proud of."

It seems very likely that Johnson will be back for the new film, previously telling The Movie Dweeb "I've been working on a contract...I believe Peter B. Parker is making a return."

The upcoming sequel will see the return of Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld as Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen, respectively. Spider-Verse 2 will also see Issa Rae join the voice cast taking on the role of Jessica Drew, the hero known as Spider-Woman, in her first feature film appearance.

A trio of new directors — Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson — have been brought on to helm the sequel. Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are also confirmed to return as producers andare writing the film's script, alongside Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' David Callaham. Lord originally co-wrote the first Spider-Verse with one of the film's original directors, Rodney Rothman.

Stay tuned for further details on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel before it hits theaters on October 7, 2022.