‘Captain America: Civil War’ Directors Address Spider-Man Suit Controversy

Marvel really wants to divide fans with “Captain America: Civil War.” The movie studio’s marketing team has been telling fans to pledge their allegiance to Team Iron Man or Team Cap, but that isn’t the issue that truly has fans arguing. The real controversy came with Spider-Man’s suit.

Director Joe Russo said that the suit looks the way it does because he and his brother Anthony like it. “That’s the design that we love, it’s the design that [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige loves and so on,” Joe explained to Forbes. “He’s a very popular character so it’s always going to be controversial, people are always going to love or hate what you do with him, but all we can do is make sure that we love it, that we are true to ourselves and true to how we feel about the character and then hope that everybody else digs it.”

Spider-Man (Tom Holland) first revealed himself at the end of the latest “Captain America: Civil War” trailer, and immediately, viewers started voicing their opinions online. They had pretty strong opinions on Peter Parker’s disguise.

Luckily for those fans who hated the costume, it might look a little different in the movie. “And there is still effects work that needs to be done on it,” Joe revealed.

Director Anthony Russo believes those negative opinions won’t be around once audiences see the finished product. “Part of issue is that we gave such a small impression of the character in that trailer, it’s something of a Rorschach test where people can pour as much of their Spidey anxieties out,” Anthony explained. “But when they see the movie they are going to get a very big picture of a very complete character that they have never seen before. It’s kind of hard to react to people’s reactions but they will change radically when they see the movie.”

They aren’t the only ones who believe audience will be head over heels for the new Peter Parker. “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn got an early look at the movie and praised the character and actor. “It’s his own thing. He is to Spidey as Downey is to Iron Man, Ledger was to the Joker, Pratt is to Star-Lord,” he tweeted.

Sony had to make a special deal with Marvel Studios just to get the webslinger into two Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films (“Civil War” and a standalone flick). However, it sounds like the Russo brothers are hoping to extend that deal. They say that his suit, much like the other Avengers’ costumes, could be upgraded if he is in “Infinity War.”

“We like making strong choices with characters so while this might be a slightly more traditional, [comic book writer and artist] Steve Ditko influenced suit, it is certainly in our vocabulary to develop it into something more extreme as the storytelling requires,” Joe added.

Spider-Man swings into theaters when “Captain America: Civil War” is released on May 6.