By now you’ve probably seen the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, the start of a rebooted trilogy starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker instead of Tobey Maguire. Which means squeaky voices and emo-Gothic phases are out, and a newer, bolder, faster Spider-Man has arrived.
In Marc Webb’s version, at least based on the trailer below, Spider-Man seems more like a super ninja, with a “spidey sense” that tingles fast enough for him to dodge bullets at close range. Parker is also a bit of a genius now, a trait inherited from his father and introduced here by the Uncle Ben upgrade, Martin Sheen. As a result, Peter solves an equation on a huge chalkboard, Good Will Hunting style, for Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), which likely leads to Connors’ mutation into the Lizard. His extra intelligence also explains how a high school teenager was able to invent webslingers.
It’s not quite the “untold story” Sony claims it is in this trailer, but it’s certainly a new direction for the comic book character in his fourth summer movie. And it looks “amazing.” Spider-Man taking on “38 of New York City’s finest,” slamming bullies, springing off taxis, swinging from cranes, and clashing with the powerful Lizard.
The high-flying action looks great, but what has me more excited is Webb’s true strength. His first feature was (500) Days of Summer, a quirky, intimate film about a relationship between a boy and a girl, without the special effects. A Spider-Man movie that nails the nimble quickness of the action and a stronger, more meaningful romance between Parker and his love interest, a blond Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, could be something special.
Meanwhile, Steve, the eagle-eyed editor of Collider, went frame-by-frame to discover the words “Mark of the Spider-Man” hidden on the silver logo at the end. Googling that brings up markofthespider-man.com, a viral website with six static screens and the spindly Spidey logo above. The six images are animated white noise GIFs for now, but one or more are likely to change soon, possibly starting a scavenger hunt of some kind. A peek at the CSS code underneath (I’m a nerd) initially labeled each section as a “city,” when Collider first made the discovery. Those classes have since been changed to “cell.” So, if you’re an avid Spider-Man fan or you love puzzles, check back there (and here) for the start of a viral marketing campaign. All leading to the release of The Amazing Spider-Man on July 3, 2012.
