SDCC 2011: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Panel Recap, The Lizard and Andrew Garfield’s Epic Enterance

Without doubt one of the biggest panels took place in Hall H yesterday with Sony’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ in which all doubts and concerns about the new reboot were answered with some new footage as well as Andrew Garfield’s memorable entrance and heart felt speech about why he loves Spider-Man and how it has influenced his life.

The panel kicks off with the viewing of the new teaser trailer that we’ve all seen, but in gorgeous 3D, which adds to the viewing experience. Then there was a little chaos as a cosplayer dressed as Spider-Man with a fanny pack crashes the mic area as the moderator tries to tell him that Q&A will come later. The guy begins to talk about his love of Spider-Man and then removes his mask to reveal that he’s none other than Andrew Garfield. The crowd goes nuts.

He is then onstage joined by producers Matt Tolmach, Avi Arad, Director Marc Webb and co-star Emma Stone (and eventually Rhys Ifans). Webb begins with a confession about his love of Spider-Man and the deep mythology that hadn’t been previously explored. He then tells the audience that they had just finished filming a few weeks ago and he has some rough footage to show.

The clip begins in high school with Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka) picking on puny Peter Parker. But Peter is able to fight back with his new found powers. We see Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) who scolds Peter for trying to get even, giving new definition to the now tired and overused “with great powers come great responsibility.” We see Spider-Man in action foiling a carjacker pinning him to a wall with webbing as he tries to run away. We then see Spider-Man trying dispatching more criminals left and right as he tries to learn how to use his new powers. There’s a scene where Gwen (Emma Stone) and Peter awkwardly try to plan a date the way teenagers do. We’re also introduced to Sgt. George Stacy (Dennis Leeary), who’s branded Spider-Man as a menace and is making it his mission to take down the web crawling vigilante.

A second clip was also shown focusing specifically on the film’s new villain, The Lizard, AKA Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). The scene begins with Peter in class listening to Connors talk about trying to regrow his arm using cross-species genetics so he could feel normal again. We see him descend into a secret lab and inject himself with the green serum. The serum works, but with dire consequences as his new arm begins to grow scales and he slowly transformers into the Lizard. The scene cuts to two girls in the bathroom talking about boys. The toilet begins to shake and the explores and out comes The Lizard (CGI) who breathes and extends his tongue towards the terrified teens. Scene cuts to black and we’re shown the new Spider-Man Logo, before cutting back to the Lizard lunging at the screen (Would probably look nice in 3D)

If you’re wondering what The Lizard looks like, he’s more humanoid like the classic lizard than the one seen in Ultimate Spider-Man where he is literally a lizard with a lab coat on. This looks like a man with scales and sharp teeth.

After the clip, Rhys Ifans comes out and joins the rest of the talents.

Some highlights from the panel:
– According to Marc Webb the film is intended to be less campy and more realistic, hence the grittiness. But also does not want to shy away from the humor of the characters.
– A very humbling Garfield spoke about how he talked to Maguire every night after filming. And that Maguire even left him a message on his answering machine after he was announced as the new Spider-Man.
– The crew feels the pressure to live up to the original mythos and not just the films. Calling Spider-Man Shakespearean in nature or a modern “Greek myth.”
– Below closing, Webb spoke again about how doing Spider-Man was a no brainer and realizing the magnitude of the character in pop culture. “Spider-Man is part of our culture. He was there before I was born and hell be there after I die.”

“The Amazing Spider-Man” opens July 3, 2012.

Source: Video courtesy of YouTube