An Amazing Spider-Man 2 Costume Overhaul

Coming Soon has thwipped out a new image from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, giving us what I believe is the first good look at a more streamlined, classic costume. It appears the web-head is devolving! Where once there was an ultra complicated array of pours, lines and high tech looking materials that made it seem like young Peter Parker was just as much a genius at the sewing machine as when he tinkers with electronics and chemicals...we now have a more classic design with a mesh pattern embedded beneath cloth, the tell tale rounded web lines, a de-ed-hardified spidey-symbol and a widening of the eyes with white lenses, bringing to life an all around iconic look. I'll admit to a lot of basketball suit bashing when the first film was being released, but I'm sure I also admitted the suit looked excellent on screen. Now we are thrust back to square one with a super simplified design harkening back to the Raimi Spider-Man films...and you have to wonder who threw the switch on the way back machine here...

The Amazing Spider-Man Reviewed

As an angry nerd who was raised on comic books, I have a personal stake when Hollywood hijacks one of my beloved comic heroes and has their way with them. Sometimes, we get a disaster like Catwoman. I’ll give you a moment to stop screaming and vomiting. …and we continue. Sometimes we get Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. After watching The Amazing Spider-Man, the older Spider-Man films now play like Tim Burton’s Batman in my head. They are whimsical and fairly non-threatening with too much time spent on overly mushy, mumbly moments where our protagonists drone on about their boundless love, and at the time, it is all we had, so it was good. Peter Parker was super nerdy, Mary Jane was missing a bit of her ka-pow…if you know what I mean…and there was just some element missing. The humor of the comics..the intensity of the action..the depravity of the villains…SOMETHING just did not translate. Even New York was this sort of idealized, convenient Raimi creation. All that is about to change.

The Amazing Spider-Man 4 Minute Super Preview

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.

A Closer Look at the Amazing Spider-Man's Incredibly Complicated Outfit

July 3, 2012 will see the return of your favorite web head, RE-BOOTED for another attempt at a long lasting franchise for one of the most iconic super heroes the world has ever known. I don't think it is too dramatic to say we are all wishing as hard as we can that this series borrows straight from comic story lines, boasts amazing writing and avoids any sort of musical interludes. Sony kicks things off with a slow roll out of images, first revealing the "real world" recreation of Spidey's blues and reds, now made hi-tech as if they allow him to break the sound barrier without splitting a seam and survive a shark bite simultaneously.












The Amazing Spider-Man's new suit actually reminds me of some incredibly expensive basketball sneakers I've seen in the past...or maybe even the basketball itself. When people talk about the over-complication of a super hero suit, I bet they never imagined the many layers that make up this insane Franken-suit which I believe was originally created to give the Jamaican Bobsledding Team a considerable edge at the next Winter Olympics. Now, one would argue that when you take in the entirety of the suit, it isn't that bad..and when we see the man in action we won't care what the hell he is wearing. My answer to this would be..Sony put up pics of the suit in super hi-rez, so obviously someone is very proud of the work that went into it and we should take this opportunity to peek into every nook and cranny. As a Frat boy would say... "He was askin' for it!" Behold, the many universes folded into the Amazing Spider-Man super suit. Try not to go mad as you travel down to his gooey nougat center! I personally don't care that the tribal spidey-symbol flanked in red directs the viewer's eye directly to his junk. If the writing is solid, the action is expertly planned out and the story doesn't dwell too heavily in the soap opera-esque moments that often mire a Spider-Man epic, I'll be a plump kid in a candy store once again. As a bonus, the super close ups provide us with a nice look at Spidey's old school mechanical web shooters! I'm also hoping my Cosplayer friends will be able to use these shots to start their own movie accurate costumes far ahead of the film's release. This raises the biggest question I have for the film makers right now. If Peter Parker doesn't want anyone to know his super alter ego....then WHO THE HELL MADE THIS PSYCHOTIC COSTUME??!! The last one was hard enough to swallow, but this one is INSANE. Suspension of disbelief in over-drive. Nuff said.

Andrew Garfield Cast as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man

After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Andrew Garfield has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when Spider-Man swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Today’s confirmation culminates what has been one of the most eagerly anticipated casting announcements in recent memory. Bloggers, pop culture speculators, and everyday fans have pored over and analyzed every conceivable online rumor in an attempt to discover the identity of the next actor to play Peter Parker. Garfield will immediately begin preparing for the coveted role.

The Spider-Man franchise is one of the most successful in film history and the three previous motion pictures have collectively grossed more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office.

On selecting Garfield, director Marc Webb said, “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, President of Columbia Pictures said, “Spider-Man is a classic superhero -- a young man who balances his responsibility to serve humanity and crush evil with the shyness and normalcy of someone struggling to find himself. The role demands an extraordinary actor. You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into Spider-Man. An actor who will depict the vulnerability of youth and the strength and confidence of a legendary figure at the same moment. We have found that actor in Andrew Garfield. From the first time we saw him in the upcoming film The Social Network, to his glorious screen test, which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker.”

Producer Avi Arad added, “I’m incredibly excited about Andrew Garfield. In the Spider-Man tradition, we were looking for a smart, sensitive, and cool new Peter Parker who can inspire us and make us laugh, cry, and cheer. We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future.”

Producer Laura Ziskin said, “We are thrilled to have Andrew Garfield for this new incarnation of Spider-Man under Marc Webb’s direction. We were fortunate enough to meet with a group of fantastically talented young men. In the end, we all agreed that in addition to being an extraordinary actor, Andrew had the right mix of humor, youth, and pathos, along with an underlying sense of strength and power necessary to bring Peter Parker and Spider-Man to life on screen.”

The selection of Garfield was revealed at a press event in Cancun, Mexico for international journalists attending a media tour promoting upcoming films from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Garfield is fast becoming one of the most respected and sought-after young actors working in the industry today. In a short career, spanning only five years, he has already been directed by, and starred alongside, some of the greatest names and received a BAFTA for a role that won him international praise.

Garfield most recently worked with director David Fincher on the upcoming film The Social Network. He previously starred for Spike Jonze on his robot love story I’m Here, which premiered at Sundance this year. He plays the lead male opposite Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, due for release later this year.

Other notable screen credits include Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus playing opposite Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, Robert Redford’s Lions For Lambs, where he starred alongside Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep; Revolution Films’ “Red Riding Trilogy – 1974” directed by Julian Jarrold, where he lead a stellar cast including Rebecca Hall and David Morrissey, and his unforgettable portrayal of a young ex-con in John Crowley’s “Boy A,” for which he earned the best actor BAFTA in 2008.

Garfield’s career began in theatre and in 2006 his performances in “Beautiful Thing” (Sound Space/Kit Productions), “The Overwhelming,” and “Burn / Chatroom / Citizenship” (Royal National Theatre) won him the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard awards and the Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards. Other notable theatre credits include “Romeo and Juliet” (Manchester Royal Exchange) and “Kes” (Manchester Royal Exchange), for which he received the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Manchester Evening News Awards 2004.