Sony Picture Animation president Kristine Belson confirms that Miles Morales will indeed be headlining the upcoming Spider-Man animated movie. This comes after rumors that someone other than Peter Parker will be the focus of Sony's newest project.

According to Phil Lord's pre-recorded intro for Sony's preview event, the best thing about the character of Spider-Man is that anyone can wear the mask. Breaking the barrier of race, age and gender, anyone can project themselves into the web-slinging hero. Belson, adding to the idea, states that this has been the original vision of Spider-Man creator Stan Lee, and that Sony has been really inspired with the concept that they took it to heart, IGN reports.

As for the animated nature of the film, Lord, shared that this allows the movie to reach places they have never gone to before. He also hints about a lot of surprises in store for the film. Chris Miller, who co-produces and co-writes the animated feature with Lord, promises a lot of heart, action and laughs in this installment, which is stated to be independent from the live-action movies.

Miles Morales is the half-black, half-Hispanic youngster created by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli that took over Peter Parker's mantle as Spider-Man for Marvel's "Ultimate" line, according to Forbes. Wielding the same powers as that of his predecessor, like superhuman strength and reflexes, he has two unique abilities that set him apart. He has the ability to camouflage, which makes him blend with his surroundings, and he also wields an ability called "venom sting", an attack that paralyzes the target by touching them or anything that connects him to the target. 

In the Ultimate comic book universe, which started in 2000 as a way to tell new stories of Marvel characters without affecting the original continuity, Parker was killed off. Morales, inspired by the heroism of the webslinger, went under the same "enhanced-spider bite" to become the new incarnation of Spidey. When the Ultimate continuity was discontinued in 2015, Morales was brought in to the original Marvel Universe, Earth 616, and became the guardian of New York City, while Parker faced threats around the world.

Sony's animated "Spider-Man" movie will premier on December 21, 2018.