The soundtrack for the 2018 American animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Miles Morales incarnation of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, consists of a soundtrack featuring original songs written for and inspired by the film and an original score composed by Daniel Pemberton. The soundtrack was released under the title Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from & Inspired by the Motion Picture) under the Republic Records label on December 14, 2018, while Pemberton's score was released as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Original Score) under the Sony Classical label three days later.
Soundtrack
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from & Inspired by the Motion Picture)
The soundtrack features songs performed by an array of artists, including Vince Staples, Jaden Smith, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Ski Mask the Slump God, Ty Dolla Sign, Post Malone, Swae Lee, Anuel AA, Thutmose, Coi Leray, the now-late Juice Wrld, and the late XXXTentacion. The soundtrack was supported by the singles "Sunflower" and "What's Up Danger". It was released by Republic Records on December 14, 2018, the same day as the film's theatrical release.[1] A deluxe version of the soundtrack, with remix versions of "Sunflower" and "Scared of the Dark" as bonus tracks, was released on February 22, 2019.[2] The soundtrack's music was made to represent "what a teen like [lead character Miles Morales] is listening to across the country."[3]
Development and release
In November, Nicki Minaj revealed that she had written a song for the film.[4] It was later revealed that the song is titled "Familia" and that it features Anuel AA and Bantu.[5] The soundtrack was curated to represent what a teen like Morales would listen to.[1]
A second single, titled "What's Up Danger" and performed by Blackway and Black Caviar, was released on November 1, 2018.[9] Blackway said that "[b]eing presented with the opportunity to be a part of this project is probably the coolest thing that has ever happened to [him]", while Black Caviar claimed that "when the opportunity to write a song for the new Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film came up, [their] 10-year-old selves were freaking out".[9]
The film's soundtrack and score were blended together; an example of this can be found in the scene featuring Miles Morales taking a leap of faith. In the scene, the song "What's Up Danger", performed by Blackway and Black Caviar, fades into Pemberton's score, with the latter taking over the end of the scene.[10] The soundtrack is additionally featured diegetically, such as when Miles sings along to "Sunflower" during the beginning of the film.
In March 2023, a live orchestral concert tour of Into the Spider-Verse's score began, with Kings Theatre in Brooklyn being the first location on the tour.[11] The tour was produced by Ollie Rosenblatt, with Pemberton performing some elements of the score, though he did not conduct the orchestra, stating "there's nothing worse than a film composer pretending to conduct."[11]
Aaron Williams of Uproxx said that the soundtrack understands the necessity of representing positively the title character's ethnic group, stating it "services this idea as admirably as the film's titular character does the legacy of his revered namesake", calling it "one of the best hip-hop-oriented film soundtracks ever created".[13] He called "Memories" "the sound of the vibrant culture of the melting pot", something he felt was also present in "Familia" which he called "a reggaeton track that Miles would almost certainly enjoy listening to alongside his streetwise, Puerto Rican mother Rio".[13] He also stated that "[t]he most impressive part is how the compilation hangs together as its own separate body of work".[13] The first film's blending of Pemberton's score and the soundtrack was commended. Observer's Dylan Roth wrote that Pemberton's score weaved "perfectly between or even through the film's pop songtrack."[11] Roth further commented that the emotional climax featuring Miles taking a leap from a skyscraper "has become an iconic moment [in] recent cinema thanks in no small part to the interplay between Pemberton's orchestrated themes and 'What's Up Danger'".[11] James Whitbrook of Gizmodo wrote that Into the Spider-Verse featured "a seamless blend of licensed work featuring songs from artists like Post Malone and Lil Wayne, plus Daniel Pemberton's sprawling original music, spanning symphonic orchestral work to wailing rock guitars and eclectic electronic beats."[14] Writing for Collider, Patrick Caoile referred to "Sunflower" as synonymous with Into the Spider-Verse.[15]
Track listing
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from & Inspired by the Motion Picture)
"Way Up" features background vocals by Tyler Cole & OmArr
"Familia" features background vocals by Pip Kembo
"Start a Riot" features background vocals by Breyan Isaac
"Hide" features background vocals by Carl Chaney
Charts
The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 52,000 album-equivalent units, including 14,000 in pure album sales.[16] In the week ending January 17, 2019, the soundtrack moved up to its peak position at number two, mainly due to its lead single "Sunflower" hitting number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.[17]
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from & Inspired by the Motion Picture) (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Original Score) (2018)
A Very Spidey Christmas (2018)
In July 2018, Daniel Pemberton was revealed to be scoring Into the Spider-Verse.[44] Pemberton said that "It has been such a pleasure to enter the Spider-Verse with such an amazing array of collaborators and truly ground-breaking directors", and said that "[he felt] so lucky to have been a part of it and to have the opportunity to create a whole new musical universe for one of the world's most beloved superheroes – Spider-Man".[45] Spring Aspers, head of music and creative affairs at Sony Pictures, praised Pemberton's score, calling it "a perfect blend of influences that captures Miles Morales's Brooklyn world and the film's inclusive, optimistic message of heroism: that when it's time to step up, anyone can wear the mask".[45] The score was released in both CD and digital formats, with the digital format featuring additional tracks to the CD version.[45]
Pemberton was "initially skeptical that a big-budget animated superhero movie would be a welcome venue for his experimentation."[11]
Pemberton's score combined various elements, including "the expected orchestra with trap beats, scratching, and other hip hop and turntablist elements."[11] Another element found in Into's score included the clacking of a computer keyboard being featured in a set piece.[11] The motif for the Kingpin (or Wilson Fisk) is performed by a click-pen.[11] The score featured a noted usage of turntable scratching.[46] In his cover notes for the album, Pemberton elaborated that the idea of "using sounds generated on a DJ turntable as a key element" in the score came about after his consideration of the type of music a teenager would be listening to.[47] As the film's story becomes more centered around action, the score leans more into its orchestral elements, though its hip-hop and scratching elements continue throughout.[47]
Pemberton elaborated that to "scratch the orchestra", the team working on the film's music would "go record and mix all the live players - then get it transferred to 'vinyl' - then spend ages putting the notes back in the mix bar by bar with the amazing [DJ Blakey]".[48] The two used the Serato DJ software to "virtually spin and scratch the uncompressed orchestral recording."[11] Included in the score is a sound effect associated with the Prowler character, which Pemberton created by processing elephant trumpeting through an audio filter.[49] The score also included "a lot of sound-effect- like layers that fuel what the sound effects are doing."[10]
The score's first track, "Into the Spider-Verse" has a soundscape that is layered by a "crescendo leading to a veritable explosion of scratching sounds."[47] The score further establishes hip-hop elements, including drum kit, electronic, orchestral, and percussion elements.[47] The "Green Goblin Fight" track "is part EDM and introduces a bunch of truly scary electronic howls."[47] Later, "The Amazing Spider-Man" invokes a heroic theme that includes a three-note leitmotif.[47] Though including leitmotifs, Pemberton has stated "A theme doesn't necessarily have to be a melodic leitmotif; it can be a sort of crazy noise. In the first film, we had that with the Prowler. The Prowler noise is very recognizable, and it's a theme, but it's just a crazy noise. Whereas Miles has themes that are more traditional, musical, melodic themes."[50]
Sony Pictures Animation revealed that an extended play album based on a throwaway joke featured in Into the Spider-Verse was set to be released on December 21, 2018. Producer Phil Lord was unaware of Chris Pine's ability to sing prior to recording.[51] The EP, titled A Very Spidey Christmas, features 5 Christmas-based songs performed by cast members Chris Pine, Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, and Jorma Taccone.[52] The EP features a cover of the song "Jingle Bells" titled "Spidey-Bells (A Hero's Lament)", performed by Pine, which was featured on the film's end credits.[51] A cover of "Deck the Halls" by Johnson is also featured in the EP.[52] Both songs were released as singles on December 20, 2018.[52]
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