Across the Spider

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse secretly recast Miles Morales for the sequel so well nobody really noticed. Here's who will voice him in Beyond.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse recast Miles Morales for the sequel, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, as it secretly had someone other than Shameik Moore voice the character. The voice cast of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel is largely filled with familiar voices, as many of the original actors reprised their roles. This includes Shameik Moore returning to voice Miles Morales as he explores the multiverse. The movie puts him in the middle of an emotional story, which allowed Moore to deliver a great performance and further cement himself as the voice of this version of Spider-Man.

A surprise comes in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's ending when Miles discovered that he accidentally traveled to the wrong universe while escaping the Spider-Society. This meant sending him to Earth-42 instead of Earth-1610, leaving the hero in a world where there is no Spider-Man and Miles' father is dead. The alternate universe has additional differences, including the shocker that Miles Morales is Prowler on Earth-42. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse delivered the twist by having the villainous version of the main hero come face to face with his alternate self. What viewers might not have caught is how the movie recasts Miles Morales for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse at this moment.

Shameik Moore continues to voice Earth-1610's Miles Morales in the film's ending sequence, but Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse also recasts the role by having Jharrel Jerome voice Earth-42 Miles Morales. The Prowler version of Miles does not have many lines before Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's post-credits tease comes. The limited scenes and surprise nature of Earth-42's Miles Morales mean it is easy to miss the fact that Shameik Moore is not voicing this version of the character. That honor goes to Jharrel Jerome, who is now set up to voice Prowler Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Jharrel Jerome received his breakout role in Hollywood by playing 16-year-old Kevin in 2016's Moonlight, Barry Jenkins' Best Picture-winning LGBTQ drama. He went on to win an Emmy for his performance in Ava DuVernay's limited series When They See Us. Jharrel Jerome has also made appearances in other notable projects like First Match, Monster, Mr. Mercedes, and Concrete Cowboy. Playing Earth-42's Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse marks his first superhero role, but Jerome has previously vocalized his interest in playing Miles Morales in live-action. Now, he gets a chance to play the character in a different light.

There are a few reasons that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse recast Miles Morales' Prowler variant with Jharrel Jerome. Although it might be difficult to notice during his brief debut scenes, having someone other than Shameik Moore voice Earth-42's Miles Morales is a way to further help differentiate the two versions of the character. There are already visual differences between how the two versions of Miles Morales look, but Jharrel Jerome voicing Prowler Miles means Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will also help lessen the burden that would come with Shameik Moore voicing both characters.

The decision to have Jharrel Jerome voice Miles Morales of Earth-42 in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is also likely a big sign that the character will have a significant role in the sequel. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is set up to show how Miles gets home, and that means escaping from Earth-42's Miles' grasp. There is a chance that Prowler Miles will have a change of heart if it means helping save his father in another universe. Otherwise, Jharrel Jerome's cameo and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse recasting Miles Morales' Prowler variant is set up for another major villain in the sequel.