Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse already has lofty expectations, and the film has even more pressure after the latest franchise milestone.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has high expectations, and the latest milestone for the franchise placed even more pressure on the film to stick the landing. After the cliffhanger ending of Across the Spider-Verse, audiences are eager to see how the Spider-Verse trilogy will conclude. Unfortunately, Beyond the Spider-Verse was delayed and there is no official release date. Still, this does give the filmmakers even more time to ensure every detail is perfect, as anticipation is high, especially now considering the long wait.

Meanwhile, the Spider-Verse franchise continues to stack up the accolades, as both films won several awards, from Golden Globes to Oscars to animation awards. Both Marvel films were hits with critics and audiences, and Across the Spider-Verse dominated at the box office, grossing $690.9 million. Beyond the Spider-Verse can continue this successful trend, but another recent franchise accomplishment makes the upcoming third film even more important.

Beyond the Spider-Verse Could Make The Spider-Verse Trilogy One Of The Greatest Ever

Rotten Tomatoes recently shared a list of its 300 best movies of all time. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was ranked No. 21 with a 97% critic score. It is the highest-ranked superhero movie on the list, meaning Rotten Tomatoes deemed it the greatest superhero film ever. Across the Spider-Verse wasn’t far behind its predecessor, sitting at No. 81 with a 95% critic score. Spider-Verse is one of the few franchises with multiple films within the top 100 and the only animated series with multiple movies higher than Spider-Verse is the Toy Story series.

With two films in Rotten Tomatoes’ top 300, the Spider-Verse trilogy could be one of the greatest of all time if Beyond the Spider-Verse delivers. It is hard to create three excellent films, and it’s rare for each one to be considered on the same level. As great as The Dark Knight trilogy, it’s considered by many that The Dark Knight is significantly better than the other two. Spider-Verse could join the ranks of Lord of the Rings or the first three Toy Story films if Beyond is as good or better than the first two movies.

Across The Spider-Verse Could Be Tarnished If Beyond Isn’t Excellent

Across the Spider-Verse ended with an excellent cliffhanger. Miles Morales is accidentally transported to the wrong universe, one where his dad was killed and crime runs rampant throughout New York City. It’s also the universe where the spider that bit him comes from, meaning there is no Spider-Man, and the alternate Miles took on the Prowler mantle after his uncle. Miles is kidnapped by the Prowler and strapped to a punching bag, but Gwen Stacy and her Spider-family is on the way to save him.

This ending shocked many viewers but disappointed many who wanted a more conclusive ending. If Beyond the Spider-Verse is amazing, all is forgiven, as Across would flow into the next one upon rewatches. However, if the third chapter is underwhelming, it could tarnish Across the Spider-Verse as it won’t be as enjoyable to watch, knowing it has unfulfilled potential. It’s doubtful that Beyond the Spider-Verse will be anything but fantastic given the series’ past quality, but stranger things have happened.