The costume designer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has put to rest what we already know about Donald Glover’s surprise appearance as the Prowler.
New concept art from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has recently confirmed something about which we already had a Spidey-sense and it concerns a surprise cameo in the film by a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Across the Spider-Verse first captivated audiences as the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 animated film hit theatres back in June. Already, it has emerged as one of the top releases of the year, proving that the film not only lives up to its predecessor but it even surpasses it for many fans, and paves the way for the upcoming Beyond the Spider-Verse.
While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces us to the multiverse and offers an assortment of Spider-Man variations, Across the Spider-Verse furthered that concept, giving us an abundance of easter eggs, MCU references and even cameos from other films. One of those cameos was a surprise appearance from Donald Glover as a variation of Aaron Davis — not the version of Davis who is Miles Morales’ deceased uncle in the Spider-Verse universe.
Glover initially portrayed an interpretation of Aaron Davis in the 2017 MCU film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which saw him as a pre-Prowler variation of the character coming into conflict with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Now, we saw a version of Glover’s character pop in the animated Spider-Verse world, all decked out in his Prowler costume, where he is seen trapped in a prison cell inside the Spider-Society’s HQ in Nueva York.
While many fans had already believed that Glover was reprising his MCU role in the film, this hasn’t been officially confirmed until now.
Across the Spider-Verse’s costume designer Kris Anka shared on Twitter the film’s concept art for Glover in his Prowler suit, as we saw in the movie, which refers to him as “MCU Prowler.”
“We have a Prowler”
— kris anka (@kristaferanka) July 5, 2023
One of the more fun surprising assignments was getting to lay down some first pass designs for the #DonaldGlover #Prowler
I looked at racing suits and riot gear to try to translate the prowler design into real life#AcrossTheSpiderverse pic.twitter.com/Hvp5K68Ar3
While Anka doesn’t explicitly say that Glover’s character in Across the Spider-Verse is indeed the MCU’s live-action Prowler, the artwork labels him as such, confirming that the two are one and the same.
What does Donald Glover’s Spider-Verse cameo mean for the MCU Prowler?
While Glover’s cameo as the MCU’s Prowler in Across the Spider-Verse was brief, it doesn’t mean we can underestimate how significant his appearance might be for the future of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man series. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Glover’s Davis only vaguely referenced his nephew Miles, but now we have more than just a wink to Miles’ life in the MCU as we also have confirmation of the Prowler’s existence in that universe as well.
The fact that we now have a definite Prowler in the MCU might mean that Marvel will give us a live-action Miles Morales. After all, Miles fighting the Prowler is a significant step in his story —- you could say that it’s a canon event — and with Spider-Man 4 in the works, we might see that happening sooner rather than later.
The former Sony boss and Spider-Man franchise producer Amy Pascal even teased us recently about the possibility of a Miles Morales live-action Spider-Man film. It’s currently unknown whether Miles’ live-action debut will happen in the MCU or as a standalone Spider-Man film. But thanks to Across the Spider-Verse, Glover’s Prowler could certainly make an appearance, which could bridge the gap between Holland’s Spider-Man and the live-action debut of Miles.