Why Into the Spider-Verse's Spanish dialogue isn't dubbed
Animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse contains some groundbreaking language choices, and here's why.
Debuting Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as web-slinging hero Spider-Man on the big screen is a culturally significant achievement: he's the son of a Puerto Rican mother and an African-American father, resulting in an Afro-Latino ethnicity.
But here's the thing: Miles communicates with his mum (Rio, voiced by Nuyorican actress Luna Lauren Velez) in Spanish, and the filmmakers decided not to include any subtitles.
Writer and producer Phil Lord – known for his work on The Lego Movie – has now explained Spider-Verse's lack of subtitles (via Remezcla).
"I grew up in a bilingual household in the bilingual city of Miami where you hear Spanish all over the place, and it's not particularly remarkable," he revealed. "I certainly understand what it's like to feel like you're half one thing and half something else."
Lord's mother is from Cuba and his father originated from America, therefore he can really relate to Miles' duality.
"It was important for us to hear Spanish and not necessarily have it subtitled. It's just part of the fabric of Miles' community and family life."
Meanwhile, actress Luna Lauren Velez – whose character speaks mostly in Spanish to Miles – clearly appreciates the filmmaking team's decision to not translate her dialogue in the movie.
She expressed: "That was really bold, because if you use subtitles all of a sudden we are outside, and we are not part of this world anymore. It was brilliant that they just allowed for it to exist".
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is out now in the UK and US.
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