Sony Quietly Released Multiple Versions of 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' to Theaters

Adding to the multiverse mythos that comprises Sony and Marvel's Spider-Verse trilogy, there seem to be (at least) two separate versions of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse currently playing in theaters.

The animated blockbuster, a sequel to 2018's Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was initially released on June 2 and topped that weekend's box office with a massive $120 million debut. It's since gone on to gross nearly $600 million worldwide.

Users on social media began posting side-by-side comparisons of a scene from the film which features Spider-Man 2099 interacting with his virtual assistant Lyla. One version of the scene ends with Lyla taking a selfie of the pair, while the other version cuts away before the selfie moment.

Andy Leviton, an associate editor and voice actor on both Spider-Verse films, retweeted the video along with the message, "I was wondering when people might start noticing..."

A Reddit user compiled an expansive list of differences between the versions of the film Sony distributed to theaters, though it's currently unclear exactly how many versions of the movie are in circulation.

All of the differences noted are minor changes to dialogue or insert shots that don't affect the overall story, or even their individual scenes. Yet it's a unique idea which both fits the film's tricky, reality-bending conceit and is ensured to keep Across the Spider-Verse near the top of the box office for the remainder of summer.

So far, Sony's plan is working. Last weekend, Spider-Verse returned to the top of the charts, cementing The Flash's financial disappointment and dampened the opening of Jennifer Lawrence's comeback comedy No Hard Feelings.

At this rate, we'll still be wrapped up in Spidey's web by Labor Day.