Sony has delayed Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse indefinitely

Beyond the Spider-Verse was highly anticipated by fans after Across the Spider-Verse left things off on a cliffhanger ending. The recent revelation, though, doesn't feel surprising if you've been following the news surrounding the sequel, mainly its production.

Aside from the ongoing strike, controversies loomed over the production of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, sullying its massive box office take. The situation points to the dirty underbelly of the animation industry, as valid concerns around animated crunch and mistreatment surfaced. An anonymous animator highlighted that dozens if not hundreds of members of the animation team had quit during production due to the gruesome working hours. This implies that, even if the strike didn't happen, it would be optimistic to expect the film to be ready in a year unless Sony overworked the writers and animators into the ground.

Fans are now hoping that Sony, and other employers, give creatives enough space and time to create a high-quality movie, even if it takes a lot longer to premiere.

A common sentiment all over the internet is for studios to realize that delays shouldn't just be targeted toward finishing a movie to make them do better with audiences. Instead, companies should consider delaying production or setting extensive deadlines to make artist conditions more crunch-averse.

Overall, these changes are a part of a larger industry standstill due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) has been unyielding in meeting the guilds' demands, leading to an expectation that these strikes will continue for a while. As a result, several other events, like the annual Emmys ceremony, have also had to be rescheduled.

Ultimately, despite the disappointment of fans eagerly awaiting the sequel, many hope this will lead to improved conditions for animators and a better product in the end.

Until then, fans and industry watchers will have to wait and see how Sony Pictures manages this intricate web of challenges.

Thankfully, Insomniac Games and PlayStation Studios, in general, appear to have done a better job caring for employees. At the moment, Spider-Man fans can look forward to playing as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales when Marvel's Spider-Man 2 comes out on October 20.