Expectations are high for the character of Spider-Man (a.k.a. Peter Parker) in the Marvel film "Captain America: Civil War." After all, the role had been wonderfully portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the past before it went to "In the Heart of the Sea" star Tom Holland.
But directors Joe and Anthony Russo are not worried how Holland's superhero will be perceived because they have infused a different element into the character.
"We took a very personal approach to the character," Joe explained to Comic Book. "We had thought back to the things that excited us about him as a character when we were younger, and one of the most important components of that was that 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."
The two really wanted to get an actor who is close to the age of a high school student, and that is why they thought Holland's casting was simply perfect.
"We wanted more of an authenticity to the casting. We were very specific about that. 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," he added.
The directors said that previous interpretations of Spider-Man tried to stay true to the comic books, but there were still some inconsistencies. One of these is the house where Maguire's Peter Parker lived.
"Those were very expensive homes. We wanted to relate it to the reality... 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," said Joe.
Then, there is the challenge of bringing Spider-Man up to the speed of the Avengers.
"We're bringing Spider-Man into the movie in that universe, now, in that specific tonal stylistic world," said Anthony. "Part of our choices were all so colored by the specifics of the world what we were playing in with these two Captain America movies, meaning Winter Soldier and Civil War. It's a very specific tonal world. It's a little more grounded and a little more hard-core contemporary. That was also coloring our choices a lot about the character on Spider-Man."
"Captain America: Civil War" will make its premiere on May 6, 2016.
