Daniel Kaluuya, who voices Spider-Punk in Sony Pictures' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, rocked out to fan-made playlists when preparing for the film.
Kaluuya was recently interviewed by GamesRadar+, where he gave fans of the punk-inspired Spider-Person an insight into his process. According to Kaluuya, he searched the word 'Spider-Punk' on Spotify, hoping to find a dedicated fan-made playlist for the character. "I just knew that some fan out there would have made something," he said. The Get Out star said he found multiple playlists and made them part of his preparation for the role.
"So, I found a couple of playlists and I would just listen to them, be like vibing out," Kaluuya said before establishing his process for picking the best songs. He stated that he would listen to all the tracks in the playlists, find the ones he "would engage with," and listen to them again. This helped him in the process of "getting the energy" for the character. "It was interesting to see what fans of the comics felt about him, the purists," the actor said. "I listened to the songs and anything I would engage with, I’d listen to it again."
How Music Influences Kaluuya's Spider-Punk Performance
The use of music and rhythm plays a big part in Kaluuya's voice for Spider-Punk. In the same interview, Kaluuya shared that he wanted the character's voice to feel like a song, adding that he tried a take where the character was "rapping, but in a punk style," which ended up being the version used in the sequel. "If he spends most of his days playing music and singing songs, that's what it would be like, especially when he’s speaking about his history," said Kaluuya. The Oscar-winning actor also spoke about major names he wants to see in the movie's sequel, including Snoop Dogg and Bill Murray.
Created by Dan Slott and Olivier Coipel, Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk is a fan-favorite character who debuted in 2015's The Amazing Spider-Man #10. Across the Spider-Verse is the character's theatrical debut and marks his first time being adapted from the comics.
Across the Spider-Verse was released on June 1, 2023, and has so far received praise from both critics and audiences. It follows Miles Morales, voiced again by Shameik Moore, as he reunites with Gwen Stacy, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld. The film sees Miles introduced to a multiversal allegiance of Spider-People, brought together by Oscar Isaac's Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider-Man 2099. The film's extensive voice cast also features actors like Andy Samberg, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, and more.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.
Source: GamesRadar+