It wasn’t necessarily the web-slinging heroism that made Miles Morales an instant fan favorite. Rather, we can’t help but love the youngster when he sings along playfully toPost Malone’s “Sunflower"throughout 2018’sSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While Marvel has yet to announce a live-action Miles Morales joining theMCU, it’s something that will surely happen eventually, especially when there are, right now, many up-and-comingactors who should play him.
Shameik Moore made headlines for his voice-acting performance as Miles Morales inInto The Spider-Verse,and its first sequelSpider-Man Across the Spider-Versedelivered everything fans hoped for from the second in this trilogy, and the final film,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewill hopefully deliver a satisfying conclusion to the story of Miles, Gwen, and the rest of the various Spider-People.
Update June 08, 2025: This article has been updated by Valerie Parker with additional content, including more information following the release ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
In this series, the audience follows along as Miles enjoys being a teenager who hangs with his friends and manages his awkward crushes, while also managing to grapple with his new reality as a web-slinger. The portrayal of Miles is a brand-new iteration of Spider-Man, while still maintaining a certain level of awkwardness so key to the character. Here’s a closer look at why Miles' on-screen presence needs to be taken to the next level with a live-action MCU movie.
Miles Morales: Origins of the Character
Miles Morales is an alternate version of Spider-Mancreated for comics in 2011. He is introduced as a biracial teenager of African-American and Puerto Rican descent who develops superpowers similar to Peter Parker’s after he’s bitten by a radioactive spider. Although Peter had long become synonymous with the Spider-Man persona at that point, Marvel fans took very well to Miles.
Even in the comics, Miles isn’t like what we typically think of in a Spider-Man superhero. There was already a Spider-Man in his universe, as Peter Parker had already taken up the role. However, Peter dies at the hands of a villain, leaving the city defenseless against all his enemies, who are now running rampant through the streets. When Miles is bitten by a spider and finds that he has similar powers to Peter, he takes on the mantle for himself and works on defending the city — as any Spider-Man would.
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Miles had been popular for years, but he exploded in popularity onceSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versewas released. The animated film introduced a new sensibility that differentiated it from all previousfilm iterations ofSpider-Man, with the style of the animators attempting to imitate the drawing style of a comic book as they brought several Spider-Heroes to life. Even with all the other web-slingers around, Miles is still the main character, as the movie takes place in his universe, showing us his origin story and how he grows into the Spider-Man mantle.
Upcoming Sequels, Spin-offs to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Of course, as Miles becomes more and more popular, it’s expected that he’ll make more appearances outside the comics beyond theSpider-Versefilms. For instance, he plays a crucial role in the very popular Spider-Man video game series for Sony Playstation, making his first appearance inSpider-Manon the PS4. After the game’s huge success, a second smaller in-between game focusing on Miles’s story was released calledSpider-Man: Miles Morales. This October, Peter, and Miles will team up for another full-length game in the series,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
In the meantime, the beloved character is confirmed to return in animated form in the upcoming third entry into the Spider-Verse franchise,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. The first film won an Oscar, and the second has been a box office and critical hit, so expectations couldn’t be higher for future animated installments — especially as we await a live-action turn from Miles. Though with thethreequel release date recently pushed backwithout setting a new release date, it’s unclear when the conclusion to this story will be released.
Miles Morales in the MCU
Miles has also already been referenced in the MCU, with a blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it mention inSpider-Man: Homecoming. When Peter is searching for the criminals, he stops a mysterious character played by Donald Glover in a parking garage who tells him the ice cream he has just purchased is for his “Nephew'”. Glover is a well-documented Spider-Man fan, and there was originally a fan movement to see him cast in the role of Peter Parker inThe Amazing Spider-Manbefore Andrew Garfield secured it for himself. When attached to directHomecoming, Jon Watts was adamant that the production find some kind of role in the film. This mention of his “nephew” (who was also directly called Miles in a deleted scene) was the film’s way of acknowledging Glover as Miles' uncle Aaron, also known as the villain The Prowler.
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This was followed up inSpider-Man: Across the Spiderversewhen Miles travels to Miguel O’Hara’s alternate universe future, the animated Miles meets a very humanDonald Glover decked out in the regalia of The Prowler, based very much on his iconic comic book appearance. That and Miguel’s mention of the Earth 19999 (the MCU) versions of Peter Parker and Doctor Strange establish that the multiverse of the Spider-Verse films is the same multiverse as the MCU.
There’s even afun reference to Miles Morales inSpider-Man: No Way Homewhen the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man reveals himself to Electro, played by Jamie Foxx. Max makes an offhand comment about how he had thought perhaps Spider-Man might be Black, and Peter apologizes. These kinds of comments and connections seem to imply that though Miles might not be a part of the live-action MCU yet, it’s definitely something on the mind of the filmmakers and will likely come to life someday.
Why The MCU Needs Miles Morales?
“I don’t want to be responsible for holding back the next young person that comes in who deserves it just as much so,” Tom Holland once toldPeople Magazine. “I would love to see a future of Spider-Man that’s more diverse — maybe you have a Spider-Gwen or a Spider-Woman. We’ve had three Spider-Mans in a row; we’ve all been the same. It’d be nice to see something different.”
Miles’ stories feel closest to the spirit of Spider-Man’s 1960s origins. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s teenage hero began as a story of a low-income social outcast trying to make his way through the world and high school while also living up to the memory of his deceased uncle. His problems were small but felt monumental. He was not fighting massive villains with plans for world domination; they were small-time crooks and bank robbers with colorful costumes. As the MCU grows bigger, they need heroes to tackle the smaller threats.
The recent additions to the MCU have highlighted an emphasis on diversifying the universe. Marvel has always been sold as the world outside our window, and part of that means reflecting a 21st Century where not every lead is a white guy played by an actor named Chris. The MCU is expanding with more heroes, and Miles Morales would be a much-welcome addition. Miles Morales,like Ms. Marvel, is the future of Marvelboth in comics and on the big screen.
It’s clear, then, that a fresh, diverse face for the Spider-Man franchise is a hot topic that should be seriously considered. While Tom Holland will likely still be Spider-Man in the MCU for some time, the actor’s time as the character may soon be done. If that were the case, it would be a good idea to start planting the seeds for Miles Morales to eventually take over the role of Spider-Man. The character making his live-action debut in the MCU would be as big of an event as whenPeter Parker joined the MCU inCaptain America: Civil War. Miles Morales as Spider-Man could be just the film to kick off Phase 7 of the MCU after the big epic crossover ofAvengers: Secret Wars.
