'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse': Issa Rae on Voicing Jessica Drew (Exclusive Clip)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently available to stream at home and will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 5. The movie is a huge hit for Sony, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, and one of the more notable characters is Jessica Drew, a pregnant Black Spider-Woman voiced by Issa Rae. PopCulture.com obtained an exclusive clip of Rae talking about her experience voicing Jessica in the film. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, writers and producers of the film, gave praise to Rae for her work, as well as directors Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson. 

The clip description states: "Issa Rae joins the SPIDER-MAN universe as the iconic 'Jessica Drew'; her character acts as a huge inspiration for Gwen in the film because she represents the attributes of what it takes to be a boss. Issa's energy throughout the film shines bright as she depicts heroism through the lens of a woman and asserting her presence in the SPIDER-MAN universe."

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which was released in 2018. The film grossed over $680 million at the box office worldwide and picked up two Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards in June, including Best Picture and Best Director. A third movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, has been announced but a release date has not been set.

In an interview with Insider back in June, Rae talked about her reaction to finding out that Jessica is a pregnant superhero. "It made me think about just my own biases towards pregnant women," Rae said. "Like sometimes we do imagine them as these fragile creatures. For me, even in thinking about, 'Oh, if I become pregnant, everything's gonna stop.'"

"It's so incredible that you have this superhero who in the literal sense is this supermom who is sacrificing to save the world, but also has these superpowers," she added. "We know that she's not putting her child in harm's way. She is basically putting herself on the line to save the world. I just think it's incredible to look at that and just be like, just because the baby is on the way doesn't mean that life stops."

Rae stars in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse along with Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali and Oscar Isaac.