‘Amazing’ dream of Spider-man
NEW YORK — Every young boy dreams of growing up to be a superhero.
For Andrew Garfield, that dream becomes a reality in the new movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, one of this summer season’s mostanticipated blockbusters. And while swinging through the streets of New York as a teenage crime fighter was an adrenalin rush, donning Spidey’s famous blueand-red suit has been nerve-racking for the film’s 26-year-old star.
“I am terrified to take on this role because it means so much to me, so I know how much it means to other people,” Garfield said. The Amazing Spider-Man, which begins to weave its sticky web in theatres on July 3, reboots the modern movie franchise that began with 2002’s Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire as the comic book crime fighter.
Over three films, the franchise amassed around $2.5 billion in ticket sales, and for the fourth movie, its makers decided to take a fresh look at the series, bring in a new director and hire Garfield to replace Maguire, 36.
Amazing Spider-Man is big on action. But it also delves into the origins of teenager Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, and tells of the superhero that 17-year-old Parker eventually becomes, director Mark Webb said.
Webb, known for 500 Days of Summer, said he wanted to tell Parker’s origin story because the character is a regular kid with normal problems that everyone can relate to, but is able to stand up to bullies who taunt him.
Webb also wanted to explore Parker’s background as a child who is abandoned by his parents and raised by his aunt and uncle to open up other Spider-Man stories for future movies
“Spider-Man is a perennial character,” Webb said. “It’s not like Harry Potter who has a closed canon. There is a 50-year canon of Spider-Man comics.”