Spider-Man 2 Miles Morales Star Learned Sign Language for the Role

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The voice and motion capture actor for Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Nadji Jeter, learned American Sign Language in order to help develop his character's role for the game. Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 continues the adventures of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they face off against the threats of Kraven the Hunter and Venom. Spider-Man 2 builds on some of the relationships established in previous games, like the one between Miles Morales and artist Hailey Cooper.

Hailey Cooper was first introduced in Spider-Man: Miles Morales as the star of her own side quest. Hailey is a hearing-impaired street artist from Harlem who primarily communicates through American Sign Language. Hailey first meets Miles as Spider-Man, hitting it off and giving him a lead about Wilson Fisk in the process. She makes a return in Insomniac's latest release, with the "Graffiti Trouble" side mission in Spider-Man 2 making Hailey a playable character. Since Miles and Hailey interact a lot more in Spider-Man 2, Miles Morales actor Nadji Jeter extensively studied sign language to get into the role.

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Jeter explains that they had a lot of coaches and teachers on set to help him. He was particularly passionate about it, as it felt like the representation in Spider-Man 2 would help resonate with certain players. "I feel like we’re touching a lot of communities a lot of people out there that can sometimes feel like they get excluded," says Jeter, "But in Spider-Man 2, everyone is connected with this game."

When Jeter was asked his experience in learning American Sign Language, he expressed how much fun he had learning it, calling it "a blast." Jeter explains that the team wanted to portray Miles and Hailey's relationship in Spider-Man 2 naturally, which meant a lot of "sit-down" sessions in order to get it right. He also explains that it was his first time learning ASL, and hopes that he and the team did a good job with it.

I feel like we’re touching a lot of communities and a lot of people out there that can sometimes feel like they get excluded. But in Spider-Man 2, everyone is connected with this game.

While Hailey Cooper only had a few minutes of screentime in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, she got a bigger role in Spider-Man 2. Alongside Hailey Cooper's playable side mission, she becomes Miles Morales' girlfriend in Spider-Man 2. Hailey is a unique love interest for Miles Morales, since she doesn't have a direct parallel from the comics. Insomniac went above and beyond in featuring proper representation with Hailey Cooper, and many fans believed that the developers stuck the landing with her.