“EVERYONE KNOWS I’D BE A GREAT LIVE-ACTION MILES”

SHAMEIK MOORE TELLS EMPIRE ABOUT TAKING MILES MORALES ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE

Is it true you wrote, “I am Miles Morales,” in your diary a few years before landing the part in Into The Spider-verse?

Yeah. At the time, I was reading The Master Key System [a book about ways to achieve your dreams], so I wrote in my journal,

“I am Miles Morales, I am Spider-man.” I’d seen Miles pop up for five seconds in the [animated] Disney XD series [Ultimate Spider-man] and honestly — you can Google it — it looks like someone drew my face [laughs]. So, I wrote that in my journal, and then someone from the Spidey team ended up seeing my movie Dope at Sundance, and threw me to the top of the list for Miles.

Where’s Miles at as Across The Spider-verse opens?

He’s older, a little more experienced. But he’s missing his friends [from the first film]. He’s growing in skill, but he wants more of a challenge. I will say that this story tops the first one. If the sky was the limit last time, the sky is now the floor. We’re stepping on it and looking at Jupiter!

What’s been your favourite fan reaction to the Spider-verse films?

I was in a restaurant, sat next to this random kid and his father, and they both started talking about how excited they were for [Across The Spider-verse]. Maybe the kid heard my voice and thought it sounded like Miles’, and that’s what got him thinking about it. Did I tell them I actually was Miles? I did not [laughs].

I didn’t think that was necessary.

Are there any similarities between yourself and Miles?

Definitely. I feel like I was chosen to play Miles in the same way the spider chose to bite him. Of all the thousands of people that could have played him, they chose me. And of all the people the spider could have bitten, it chose him. So, I feel like we’re on the same wavelength.

How did you celebrate Into The Spider-verse’s Oscar win in 2019? Oh, man. Well, first I stopped by Jay-z’s afterparty. I met him while I was making The Get Down, and he’s always been a supporter. Then I went to the Vanity Fair party, and met Jason Momoa, Childish Gambino, Michael B Jordan. There were a couple of actresses there I had a crush on, and suddenly I’m walking around with an Oscar, so that was good [laughs]. Then we went back to Jay-z’s, and it went off. Erykah Badu was there. Chadwick Boseman, Usher, Lisa Bonet. I walked up to Lisa and said, “You are so beautiful.” She just laughed and said, “Zoë [Kravitz] is over there.” She sent me straight to her daughter! It was a fun night.

There’s a nod to the Spider-verse films in Spider-man: No Way Home, when Jamie Foxx’s Electro says, “There’s gotta be a Black Spider-man out there somewhere.” Did you get a kick from that?

Absolutely. I was at the premiere of No Way Home and everyone looked at me on that line! I got a lot of tweets. I feel like everyone knows I would be a great [live-action] Miles Morales. As I left the theatre after that premiere, Jamie Foxx looked at me, like... he knew [laughs].

I think Tom Holland knows, too. It just depends on how old they want Miles to be by the time they’re ready to do a live-action movie. That’s the conundrum with whether or not I end up playing him.