Sony Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation have teamed up with the Kevin Love Fund to digitally release the animated Spider-Man short film, The Spider Within A Spider-Verse Story.

In terms of continuity and chronological timeline, The Spider Within A Spider-Verse Story takes place between the events of 2018’s Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse and 2023’s Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse.

It will be incorporated into the Kevin Love Fund’s new mental-health-focused lesson plan, “The Hero Within.” The lesson plan invites students to tell their own story through the lens of mental health awareness via an interactive curriculum including a creative storyboard activity.

In the genre-bending thriller The Spider Within A Spider-Verse Story, Miles Morales struggles to balance his responsibilities as a teenager, friend, and student while acting as Brooklyn’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. After a particularly challenging day living with these pressures, Miles experiences a panic attack that forces him to confront the manifestations of his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help can be just as brave an act as protecting his city from evil.

The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story was developed and produced in the inaugural year of Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) and Sony Pictures Imageworks’ (SPI) Leading and Empowering New Storytellers (LENS) program, a 9-month leadership training program that provides candidates from underrepresented groups with an opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience in animation. The final deliverable of the program is an all-original short film, set in the existing world of a feature produced by SPA and SPI.

The Spider Within A Spider-Verse Story is directed by Jarelle Dampier and written by Khailia Amazan, and produced by LENS program creators Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg. Rounding out the inaugural LENS team are Clara Chan who served as VFX supervisor and Joe Darko who served as animation supervisor.

In the meantime, check out my review of Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse here, as well as the biggest cameos in the movie, my ending explained and post-credits scenes breakdown, and what to expect from Spider-Man Beyond The Spider-Verse.

There is still no release date for Spider-Man Beyond The Spider-Verse.

Watch the full Spider-Man The Spider Within A Spider-Verse Story short movie below: