Issa Rae Channeled An Unlikely Coen Brothers Character For Her Role In ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’

Issa Rae has entered the Spider-Verse as Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman, in the upcoming Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, and just like the rest of the Spideys in the ever-growing universe, Drew’s character came with an immense amount of backstory in addition to being a pregnant superhero. She and Mrs. Incredible seem to have that in common.

Since Jessica Drew doesn’t really have a presence in other Spider-Man film adaptations, Rae had to look for inspiration elsewhere, which somehow led her to a Coen Brothers film (thankfully, it’s not this one).

“I was thinking about Fargo,” Rae told Yahoo! Entertainment, referring to Frances McDormand’s character Marge Gunderson in the original 1996 dramedy from The Coen Brothers. In the film, McDormand’s character is a seven months pregnant police chief investigating a triple homicide in Minnesota.

While the two movies could not be more different, Rae said she channeled Marge for her role. “[Marge] doesn’t count as a superhero. But she was a crimefighter. And I remember just being deathly afraid that something was going to happen to her and not having the same worry in this movie,” Rae continued.

Since she didn’t have to worry about Spider-Woman dying (she’s a superhero!) Rae was able to focus on the cooler aspects of being a pregnant superhero. “She’s a superhuman. So I felt less concerned for her well-being, but I also was just like, ‘This is kind of crazy that she’s just out here kicking ass while pregnant.'” Kate Winslet obviously agrees, as she played a pregnant Na’vi in Avatar: The Way Of The Water last year. But her character isn’t jumping through various multiverses, so it seems like Rae has won this round!

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2nd.