Spider-Verse Short Film The Spider Within Released

Across the Spider-Verse scene

Sony Pictures has released The Spider Within: A Spider-verse Story for free. The short film has been produced in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund, and will be integrated into its mental health-focused lesson plan, “The Hero Within.”

You can watch the film now on YouTube. It tells a new story about Miles Morales experiencing a panic attack after a challenging day. Watch it below:

The film is directed by Jarelle Dampier, a storyboard artist who has worked on various animated films, and written by Khailia Amazan. The film was developed as the first project in the inaugural year of Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks’ LENS program (Leading and Empowering New Storytellers).

The objective of the LENS program is to empower creatives from underrepresented groups with Sony’s filmmaking resources. The Spider Within is produced by LENS program creators Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg. Other members of the crew from the inaugural LENS program include Clara Chan and Joe Darko as VFX and animation supervisors respectively.

“I think I was brought in as a filmmaker as somebody with taste and taste that they valued and wanted my opinion and POV, and I completely pitched the short among several other shorts,” said Dampier in an interview with TheWrap. “It wasn’t like it was given to me. That alone, the trust, the responsibility, I think it just puts you in a different stratosphere.”

In addition to the short, a behind-the-scenes look at the film with its director and Kevin Love has also been released. Check it out below:

You can access the free lesson plan accompanying the film on the Kevin Love Fund website.

Related: Every Superhero Film Coming In 2024

The next Spider-verse film, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-verse, is currently in production. Sony’s next live-action Spider-Man universe film, Kraven The Hunter, will be released on August 30, 2024.