Andy Samberg to Play Scarlet Spider in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be released in June, and the closer we get to the date, the more information surfaces. It is confirmed that Andy Samberg, the star of Saturday Night Live and the TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is part of the cast of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as Scarlet Spider, also known as Ben Reilly. The news of new casting first came from The Lonely Island’s Instagram, the comedy group Samberg is part of. At first, the casting was a mystery, but eventually, news outlets and Andy Samberg himself confirmed that he is part of the upcoming Into the Spider-Verse sequel.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse kickstarted the journey of Miles Morales and took the world by storm with its incredible story, characters, and animations that took breath away.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a sequel to the original movie, Into the Spider-Verse, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. Shameik Moore returns as Miles Morales/Spider-Man, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker/Spider-Man, while the addition of Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099, and now Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider only enriches the great cast more.

Who is Andy Samberg?

Before we discuss Scarlet Spider and his role in the movie, let’s introduce Andy Samberg first. One of the most notable comedic actors of the last twenty years, Andy Samberg, first came into prominence with the comedy sketches he did with his childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, and in 2005, joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Samberg’s stint at SNL lasted for seven years; during that time, the actor’s career only improved.

Despite his stint at SNL, Samberg worked on other projects, mostly as an actor in movies like I Love You, Man, That’s My Boy, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and others. However, his biggest acting role was portraying Jake Peralta in the hit comedy show Brooklyn Nine-Nine from 2013 to 2021, where he also worked as a producer.

If you thought that Scarlet Spider was the only voice acting role for Andy Samberg, you’re wrong because the actor’s portfolio includes many animated featured films. A few of them include two Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies, Space Chimps, and Hotel Transylvania movies. One could say that Andy Samberg is an experienced voice actor, and his addition to the Spider-Verse cast only confirms that notion.

Andy Samberg is also a musician, writer, and producer, and in most of the projects he was acting in, the actor was also working as a producer or a writer. For his portrayal of Jake Peralta in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Samberg was awarded Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2013.

Nevertheless, Andy Samberg is confirmed to be Scarlet Spider in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie.

Who is Scarlet Spider in Marvel Comics?

Scarlet Spider is an interesting character in Marvel Comics. Ben Reilly first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #149 in 1975, but as a Scarlet Spider, the character was introduced in Spider-Man #52 in 1994. Ben is essentially a clone of Peter Parker, created by Jackal, who vowed to torment Spider-Man for the death of Gwen Stacy.

The storyline included Miles Warren, known as Jackal, teaching at the Empire State University, where he fell in love with his student Gwen Stacy, who was already in a relationship with Peter Parker. After Gwen’s death, Warren vowed to torment Spider-Man by creating a clone that would essentially take the place of Peter Parker. Strange storyline indeed, but the story of Ben Reilly doesn’t stop there.

After realizing he is a clone, the man names himself Ben Reilly and spends five years in exile. After a series of bad moments in his life, Ben is hit with the news of Aunt May’s sickness and reunites with Peter Parker in New York. This is where Ben Reilly’s journey as Scarlet Spider begins, and boy, that whole storyline gets more complicated.

We will leave that topic for another article because we got the confirmation of another character appearing in Across the Spider-Verse.

Besides Scarlet Spider, Medieval Vulture is confirmed to be played by Jorma Taccone

Besides the confirmation that Andy Samberg takes part in the Across the Spider-Verse, The Lonely Island Instagram confirmed that another of their members features in the Spider-Verse sequel. Jorma Taccone portrays Medieval Vulture after voicing Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin and Spider-Man from the 1967 animated series in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Medieval Vulture is seen fighting Spider-Man 2099, and the character will be one of the few antiheroes/villains in the movie. We already saw Miles Morales brawling with Miguel O’Hara and The Spot, and it will be interesting to see if Renaissance-inspired Vulture will feature more in the movie. Vulture is one of the most notorious Spider-Man villains, and we cannot wait to see how this unique character version will mess with Spider-Men.