Spider-Man does whatever a spider can. But the Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, played by Tom Holland, will be doing whatever a unique character can. That’s because this version of Spidey will be different from other on-screen portrayals.
Comicbook.com spoke with directors Joe and Anthony Russo about Peter Parker and his alter ego. Joe Russo said,
“He’s a high schooler burdened with incredible powers and responsibility. That really differentiates him from every other character in the Marvel universe as opposed to other superheroes. For us, it was extremely important that we cast somebody very close to the age of a high school student. The previous films had adults playing a high schooler. …We wanted an energy and charisma from the character, an energy, but also an insecurity that would make him fun to watch in contrast to the confident superheroes.”
Toward that end, the directors cast Tom Holland, who is currently 19. In contrast, Tobey Maguire was 27 in Spider-Man, and Andrew Garfield was 28 in The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Russo Brothers said they wanted to take a “logical and realistic” approach to the character. Anthony Russo added: “A character growing up with his aunt in New York, a single-income family… Where would they live? What would that look like? Where could they afford to live? We asked ourselves all those questions.”
The Russo Brothers are keeping mum on whether we’ll be seeing Spider-Man in upcoming trailers and footage of Captain America: Civil War, or even in merchandise, before the film’s release on May 6, 2016. They want to maintain the element of surprise.
Do you want to see an honest-to-gods teenaged superhero? Will Spider-Man merchandise spoil any surprises? Do you think Spider-Man will take on the same role as he did in the comic books? Sound off in the comments.