Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Sequel! Issa Rae Joins the Cast As Spider-Woman

Issa Rae, who is an actor, writer, producer and director, can now add superhero to her already impressive resume. The 36-year-old star is entering the Spider-Verse. As per Variety, the 'Insecure' star has joined the voice cast of the sequel to 2018's Oscar-winning animated feature 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' as Jessica Drew, better known as Spider-Woman. Rae has joined returning voice actors Shameik Moore (as main hero Miles Morales) and Hailee Steinfeld (as Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen). Project Greenlight: Issa Rae To Lead the Reboot of HBO Max's Docuseries.

In April, Variety reported that Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson will be directing the feature, with producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also credited as writers on the screenplay, along with David Callaham. Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Christina Steinberg are also producing, and original 'Spider-Verse' director Peter Ramsey is returning as an executive producer, with Lord Miller's Aditya Sood. Issa Rae Starrer HBO Series Insecure Is Returning For Season Five.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, casting Rae as Drew does open up the possibility of exploring a region of the Marvel comics landscape that has been virtually ignored in the Marvel feature and TV series adaptations of the last 20 years: Wundagore Mountain. In the comics, that vaguely Eastern European location, in the fictional country of Transia, is where Drew grew up as a child, while her parents used the rich veins of uranium found in Wundagore for their various scientific experiments.

The radiation, however, poisons poor Drew, which leads her parents to radically intervene to save her life by, among other things, injecting her with a serum made from, yup, arachnid blood. At one point, Drew becomes a Hydra agent, before eventually taking on the mantle of Spider-Woman. Whether any of these details from the comics will make it into the 'Spider-Verse' sequel remains to be seen, but the character's history is certainly rich with the madcap storytelling flourishes that made the first 'Spider-Verse' so terrific.

Meanwhile, Rae has not been shy about her love of all things Spidey. "Since the third grade, I've loved Spider-Man, comic books, memorabilia, everything," she told the outlet in February. Rae is currently in production on the fifth and final season of 'Insecure'. Robin Thede's 'A Black Lady Sketch Show', which Rae executive produces, was just renewed for a third season, the Season 2 finale aired on May 28.

Rae is also working on the docuseries 'Seen and Heard' for HBO, and for HBO Max, she has the unscripted series 'Sweet Life' and the hip hop comedy 'Rap Sh*t'. Her production company Hoorae is currently developing 'Perfect Strangers' with Spyglass Media. The sequel of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' is scheduled to release on October 7, 2022.

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