During a recent quarantine watch-along party for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it was revealed why the number 42 pops up so many times during the animated film."References to the number 42 throughout Spider-Verse are in honor of Jackie Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player, whose jersey number was 42," read a tweet from the film's official Twitter page. Into the Spider-Verse co-producer Christopher Miller also spoke on the film's use of 42, saying "42 and Miles have a lot of synergy."
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse released in 2018 and introduced the popular comic character of Miles Morales to the big screen. Morales, along with several other versions of Spider-Man, work together to stop Kingpin from destroying New York City.
The film was lauded, not only for its innovative animation techniques but also for its storytelling and soundtrack. Grossing $190.2 million in the United States and Canada, Into the Spider-Verse is Sony Pictures Animation's highest-grossing film, domestically.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is set to receive a sequel directed by Avatar: The Last Airbender's Joaquim Dos Santos. While the sequel was initially planned to release on April 8, 2022, it has since been delayed to Oct. 7, 2022. No official cast list has been revealed for the sequel.
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stars Shameik Moore, Brian Tyree Henry, Jake Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, Liev Schreiber, Luna Lauren Velez, Lily Tomlin, Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney and Kimiko Glenn.