Even though everyone knew Tom Holland would debut the third big screen version of Spider-Man in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, the character was not-so-surprisingly omitted from early trailers and promotional materials. But at long last, fans were treated to their first glimpse of “Underoos” when he finally debuted in the newest trailer last week.
And the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive… but then again, this is the internet and some people just had to find fault. Honestly, Spider-Man appears for just a few seconds, yet some seemed to take issue with the costume, even though even in the comics, the character’s suit has evolved over time, with him donning such drastically different looks as the all-black alien symbiote costume and the red and gold Iron Spider armor complete with superfluous “spider arm” appendages.
‘Civil War’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo are finally able to break their silence and discuss Spider-Man’s role in the film, including addressing naysayers’ opinion of the new costume.
Regarding the reaction to the suit, the brothers stated:
Still from a fan-created version of the trailer substituting the Iron Spider costume.
Joe Russo: The design of the costume is what it is. That’s the design that we love, it’s the design that Kevin Feige loves and so on. He’s a very popular character so it’s always going to be controversial, people are always going to love or hate what you do with him, but all we can do is make sure that we love it, that we are true to ourselves and true to how we feel about the character and then hope that everybody else digs it.
Anthony Russo: Part of the issue is that we gave such a small impression of the character in that trailer, it’s something of a Rorschach test where people can pour as much of their Spidey anxieties out but when they see the movie they are going to get a very big picture of a very complete character that they have never seen before. It’s kind of hard to react to people’s reactions but they will change radically when they see the movie.
Joe Russo: And there is still effects work that needs to be done on it.
The brothers also addressed the secrecy surrounding the character’s appearance in the film… apparently they were already shooting while the details of the deal between Sony and Marvel was being hammered out!
Joe and Anthony Russo directing Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan
Joe Russo: We always intended to. He was my favorite character growing up, I still have my collection of comics in my closet so it was a dream come true for us to be able to have Spidey in the movie and interpret him as a character so we couldn’t be more excited and we wanted to share that with everybody else.
Anthony Russo: Also I think it was a little bit of a correction because it was a very complicated deal that Sony had to work out with Marvel Studios and Disney in order to make that work. We were very quiet about Spider-Man’s involvement in the movie for much longer than we would have been. We were artificially silent on the character because it was such a sensitive business deal still being worked out even while we were shooting. We went through a very thorough casting process, we tested Tom Holland vigorously with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr,, we screen tested him along with several other actors, it was a very intense part of making Captain America: Civil War because he was an important part of the movie to us. Finally it’s all secure and we’re at a place where we can present him even in just a small taste.
And lest one cynically imagine that the Russo brothers were saddled with introducing Spider-Man in order to help reboot the character for the Silver Screen, rest assured, the siblings were all on board.
Joe Russo: We thought it was a great way to reveal him. I think people are going to be happy with him in the movie, he’s got a very interesting role in it.
Anthony Russo: I’ll say this, part of the fun of Spider-Man is that this film is basically a war amongst the Avengers and Spidey does not have the baggage that all these other characters have. He enters the story after the conflict that is happening between the Avengers and that gives him a very unique place in the story.
Joe Russo: Without question. We like making strong choices with characters so while this might be a slightly more traditional, Steve Ditko influenced suit, it is certainly in our vocabulary to develop it into something more extreme as the storytelling requires. I think there are things that people will discover when they see the film about why the suit operate the way it does, why the eyes move, all that stuff is substantiated. Everybody wants the answers yesterday but then what would be the point of seeing the movie?
Indeed! Sit down, fandom! The movie is just a month away! Just how big a part Spidey plays in the film remains to be seen, but let’s keep in mind, this is ‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: Civil War’. The movie is still about Steve Rogers and his journey. Whatever Spider-Man we get is just icing.
How excited are you to see a new Spidey firmly entrenched in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? What don’t you like about his appearance in the trailer?
‘Captain America: Civil War’ directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and starring Chris Evans,Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Daniel Brühl, Emily Van Camp, Martin Freeman, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, and William Hurt opens in theaters on May 6, 2016.
Jax's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes.
Anthony Russo: I’ll say this, part of the fun of Spider-Man is that this film is basically a war amongst the Avengers and Spidey does not have the baggage that all these other characters have. He enters the story after the conflict that is happening between the Avengers and that gives him a very unique place in the story.
