Script Analysis: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” — Part 4: Themes

Read the screenplay for the hit animated movie and analyze it this week.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Friday: Characters
Saturday: Themes
Sunday: Dialogue
Monday: Takeaways

Today: Themes.

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question, What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. You may download a PDF of the script here.

Screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, story by Phil Lord.

IMDb plot summary: Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.

Writing Exercise: Explore the themes in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. What is its Central Theme? What are some of the related Sub-Themes?

Kudos to Halil Akgündüz for doing the scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, click here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Major Plot Points discussion, go here.

For Part 3, to read the Characters discussion, go here.

To access 70+ analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.