New Info on Spider-Man's Place in the MCU, HIs Costume, and Why Tom Holland Was Cast
Fans are all waiting for the big Spider-Man reveal in Captain America: Civil War. We know he's going to show up, we know he'll fight alongside some of our favorite superheroes, but we still haven't seen him in action. Hell, we don't even know what he looks like yet! While we continue to wait for Marvel to give us something, we have some new information about the character to share with you. That info includes details on Spider-Man's unique position in the MCU, how his costume will be brought to life, and why Tom Holland was ultimately cast in the role of Peter Parker.
In an interview with Super Hero Hype, Holland explained why Peter Parker stands apart from the current Marvel superheroes, saying:
“I think one of the most interesting things about Peter Parker for us is that he’s the only person in the MCU now that has a secret identity, so we all know who everyone else is. I think it’s quite interesting to go back to that hiding behind a mask.”
He also talked about his emotional attachment to the character:
“I have always been a huge fan of Spider-Man, and growing up, I had countless Spider-Man costumes. Only two years ago did I go to a fancy dress party dressed as Spider-Man. I had this awesome morph suit where you can put your phone on your chest and spiders would crawl across the costume, it was awesome! He’s always been a big part of my life and a big part of boys’ lives because everybody can relate to him.”
Then, during Comic-Con Experience 2015 in Brazil, co-director Anthony Russo talked with a Brazilian entertainment website, Super Interessante and provided some details about why Holland was cast in the role and also revealed that the Spider-Man costume he will wear will require some special effects. The following had to be translated with Google Translate, so it may be a little rough:
"Well, we researched a lot and do a lot of experiments for all the characters. We did the same with Spider-Man. We knew it had to be someone young, it was very important because we wanted to give this essence to the character, it is something unique in the Marvel Universe. Tom Holland is an amazing Spider-Man, people will love it. It was a very experimental process, placing him with other actors, especially with Downey Jr., we were learning as we did and are very happy with the result. But we are still working on some things, like the uniform. He's not ready because so much will be produced with special effects."
As many of you know, Captain America: Civil War is loosely based on the comic book mini-series by Mark Millar. Marvel and the Russo brothers obviously changed a lot of things up for the movie, but they still wanted to capture the essence of that comic. One small but cool element from that story arc is that Tony Stark provides Peter Parker with a red-and-gold Spider-Man costume. When asked if we would see that costume in the film, Russo said:
"The film will show a mix of what everyone is waiting for and a little twist. So yeah, that's what I can tell."
I guess we'll just have to wait and see what exactly they're planning. Then, talking to Entertainment Weekly, co-director Joe Russo talked a little bit more about the casting process for Peter Parker and why they ultimately chose Holland.
"We did two screen tests with the character. We were pretty vocal about who we wanted for the part."
He went on to praise Holland and his work as an actor, saying:
"He’s fantastic. Amazing. It’s like Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun. Rarely do you see a kid carry a movie like that."
It didn't hurt that Holland was also a talented dancer and gymnast.
"He’s also a dancer and a gymnast. He fits the part like you can’t believe. Another thing that we were really pushing for was to go young with the part. It’s the only way to differentiate it from what’s been done in the past. Get him as close as you can to the age that [the actor] is."
And that, in a nutshell, is how Holland landed the role! The directors really talk him up, and they obviously like him. The question is, will the fans? I'm pretty sure the answer will be yes... after we finally get to see some footage of him!
Holland will make his web-slinging debut in Captain America: Civil War, which comes out on May 6th, 2016.