SDCC 2011: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN panel

I wish I could time travel into the future to July 3 now so that I could see The Amazing Spider-Man, but alas I will have to wait just like the rest of you. For those of you that consider this take on the Spider-Man universe as being bad, you may not want to read this post.

The panel kicked-off with the teaser trailer being shown in 3D. Then Andrew Garfield arrived in costume as Spider-Man and read an amazing monologue and introduced the panel in an awesome way. Garfield talked about how important the role of Spidey is for him and that reiterated that he is a fan of the character, and has been since a kid. He said that he can relate to the Spidey a lot and feels tried hard to and I have something in common, it's both of our first times at Comic-Con. 

Director Marc Webb talked about how the character of Spider-Man is so relatable and wanted to bring him to the big screen. He talked about how important Spidey is to our culture and that the universe is difficult to turn away from. Next, Webb showed a few minutes of  2D footage from the film that just recently wrapped. All I can say is WOW, this is going to finally give the Spider-Man universe it deserves. The footage gave us a look at how Peter Parker becomes Spidey and the great relationship he has with his aunt and uncle. I can say that after seeing the footage, Martin Sheen is the perfect person for the role. Stone talked a bit about how she loved playing Gwen Stacy and I think she is far better suited to the role than anyone we have seen before.

Webb then talked about how he used music during filming and before scenes to help set the tone like he did with 500 Days of Summer. Garfield revealed he listened to Sleigh Bells and Louie Prima during filming. Webb confirmed that Dr. Connors is the villain as the lizard and showed some unbelievable footage. The footage shows how Connors becomes the lizard. The CGI was simply bad ass and realistic and scaley, I can't wait to see this. Rhys Ifans then surprisingly showed up to sit on the panel 

The conversation continued and they talked a bit about the mechanical web shooters, which caused the crowd to erupt in applause. Webb then talked about how he liked the idea of Parker being able to use his intelligence to create the technology to make the best use of his powers. 

Webb then talked about the complexity of the film and the rich and authentic feel of the film. The footage showed some really funny moments that showed off the great chemistry between Garfield and Stone. 

Garfield talked again about how important the role of Spider-Man was for him and how much he related to the character. He then revealed how hard this role was for him. I have to agree from the footage it looks like Spidey gets knocked around a lot more than in past films.

Here's a full on description of the the footage that was shown thanks to SHH:

-The first scene begins with Peter Parker in high school. He's been in a fight and has gotten in trouble. 

-Uncle Ben shows up and is scolding him in the school hall. 

-Gwen Stacy comes up behind the two of them. 

-"That girl looks familar, " says Uncle Ben, "She's the girl on your computer." 

-He looks to Gwen, "He's got you on his computer!" he shouts. 

-"I'm his probation officer," he says to her as he walks away. 

-Peter is embarrassed, but Gwen comes up to him. 

-"You've got me on your computer," she asks? 

-"That's my uncle," Peter stumbles, "He's a pathological liar. He got you confused. He thought you were Gwen Stefani." 

-Gwen obviously likes him, though and they flirt, setting up a date. 

-Coldplay's "Til Kingdom Come" plays, carrying over through the next few scenes. 

-Peter is looking through his dad's old briefcase. He tries on his dad's glasses and then finds a strange looking file along with his dad's Oscorp ID badge. 

-"Your father was a very secretive man, Peter," says a voice off-camera. 

-Another song montage starts. This one to The Rolling Stone's "Street Fighting Man". 

-Lots of action scenes, most with wirework still in. 

-There's a scene on the subway where some thugs break Peter's skateboard and he fights back. 

-There's an Uncle Ben speech voiceover about power and responsibility and a shot of Peter in a wrestling ring. 

-Another scene has a criminal in a car. Spider-man is already sitting in the back. 

-The criminal freaks out. "Are you a cop?" 

-"Really?!" says Spider-Man, "You think the guy sitting here in red and blue spandex is a cop?" 

-Outside the car, a guy pulls a knife on Spider-man. 

-He falls to his knees, mocking the guy and begging, "A knife?! No, no, no! Please! Not a knife!" 

-He webs the guy to a wall, casually, firing webs like its second nature. He shoots one web while mimicking a sneeze. 

-There's a scene where Peter is eating dinner with the Stacy family. Captain Stacy is complaining about Spider-Man. 

-Gwen says that they're after the same things, but her dad says that he does it with a badge and Spider-man with a mask. That he's a vigilante. 

-Another scene has Captain Stacy making an announcement that Spider-man is now a wanted man by the NYPD. 

-Gwen asks Peter if he remembered his suit. He momentarily freaks out, thinking she's on to him, but realizes that she's talking about a dress suit. 

-The scene ends with Peter screaming Connor's name. 

-As far as the look of the lizard, it's definitely more in tone with the original Ditko design, though a lot more muscular. 

-He's massive, but a bit more human-looking than the regular comic-book design. 

-He actually looks a lot like killer croc, with a vaguely human face. 

-The transformation into the lizard looks gradual. We see scenes of Connors with shedding skin and with green scales. 

-He's down in the sewer, screaming as he transforms. 

-Two girls are in a bathroom together when the toilet begins to bubble. 

-It cracks away, falling into the ground. Out comes a massive green arm. 

-Against a wall, the lizard moves up to both girls' faces. He smells them and then sticks out his tongue, moving across one girl's face. Imagine the scene in "Alien 3". 

-There's a lab scene, too, where Connors introduces himself to Peter and his class, explaining that he plans to use science to regrow his hand. 

-Peter understands immediately how he intends to do it, using reptile genes to regrow limbs. 

-There's also a shot of Connors standing against a mirror, trying to imagine having an arm on both sides.