ET spoke with the 'Eternals' actor at the premiere of his new film, 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.'
Brian Tyree Henry is back in the Spider-Verse and couldn't be happier!
The actor spoke with ET's Ash Crossan at the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiere on Tuesday, where he shared how proud he is to be part of the sequel to 2018's Oscar-winning animated feature.
"I knew that the people wanted to see a Spider-Man like Miles Morales because I really wanted to," he shared. "I knew that this was going to be something new and I'm really glad to come back and do it a second time. It just shows that it works and that people want this and I'm really glad to be a part of the number."
"We have a representation of this beautiful Black and Latino family where the father is there for his son and cares for his son, that, beyond being a Spider-Man, [his son] is exceptional and loved," Henry, who plays Miles Morales' father, Jefferson Davis, added. "These families exist, these are representative of the families that I know. And so it's really nice to see the superhero being cared for by a family like this."
Across the Spider-Verse shows Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) meeting more Spider-People as he reunites with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) for a new adventure. This time, he's battling the multiverse-traversing The Spot and dealing with an adversary that hits closer to home -- Oscar Isaac's Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099 and his Spider-Force of multiverse protectors, which includes Issa Rae's Jessica Drew, Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), and Spider-Man India (Karan Soni).
"All these young Black and brown kids who look at Miles and go, 'Oh, that looks like me. He looks like me,' -- that makes me very happy," Henry said. "That's the way that it should be, this inclusivity, you know? Superheroes don't look one way. We're all a part of it."
The Spider-Verse isn't Henry's only foray into the superhero world. The Oscar-nominated actor has also made his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2021's Eternals.
Directed by Chloe Zhao, the film picks up after half the population returns in Avengers: Endgame. The collective energy of the restored population ends up being the catalyst for what the Eternals -- an immortal alien race tasked with protecting humanity -- call the "emergence," aka the return of their mortal enemies. The long-disbanded team of heroes reunites to save humanity in typical MCU fashion.
The film boasts a star-studded cast, including Henry, Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh and Don Lee.
Patton Oswalt, who briefly appears as Pip the Troll in the film's post-credits scene, seemingly spilled the beans on an announced sequel last August. The actor and comedian was a guest on the Today Show, promoting his film, I Love My Dad when he was asked about possibly reprising his character, who appeared alongside Harry Styles' Eros.
"They have announced there's going to be an Eternals sequel, Chloe Zhao is going to direct it," he said. "So hopefully there will be more adventures of Starfox and Pip."
Although there hasn't been any news on that front since, Henry told ET that he's ready "whenever Marvel gives me the thumbs up or gives an Eternals 2 [the] thumbs up."
"I will be right there, happy and ready to go," he added. "They did something bold, something new, which is what Marvel likes to do. I think Chloe was amazing, our ensemble was amazing [and] so when I get the call, I'll be there. I will be there."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on June 2.
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