The Russos Wanted Spider-Man in Red & Black For ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Captain America: Civil War directors Anthony and Joe Russo originally wanted Spider-Man (Tom [...]

Captain America: Civil War directors Anthony and Joe Russo originally wanted Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to sport a red-and-black suit in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, says Ryan Meinerding, Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development.

After debuting in a classic-looking red-and-blue suit crafted by benefactor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in Civil War, Spider-Man suited up in a new piece of Stark tech in Avengers: Infinity War that incorporated darker colors in a blended design paying homage to the red-and-gold Iron Spider suit from the Marvel Comics.

"Using the Iron Spider as reference from the comics, I was just trying to work in themes that I knew the Russo brothers would respond to. I know they had always wanted a red-and-black Spider-Man suit in Civil War, so I was trying to find a way to turn the Iron Spider from the comics into that," Meinerding notes in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War — The Art of the Movie.

"The Iron Spider in the comics has gold, bulbous eyes, and I felt like I really wanted to hold on to the [John] Romita eyes that we established in the previous suit design. So taking that red-and-black theme, incorporating some gold and then trying to keep the same head design — specifically the eyes — was kind of why we landed where we did."

Meinerding previously unveiled an unused Captain America: Civil War suit design that would have seen Spider-Man debut in a suit resembling the revamped Spidey suit worn by Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly in the comics, which featured a sprawling spider design on the chest and a muted color scheme.

For Spider-Man: Homecoming, Meinerding dabbled with a red-and-black suit inspired by the costume worn by Doctor Octopus, acting as an impostor Spider-Man, in the Superior Spider-Man storyline.

More recently, early concept art from Infinity War showed a Spider-Man more closely resembling the Iron Spider of the comic books with a predominantly gold-and-red color scheme.

Holland's Spider-Man will wear an upgraded red-and-black suit in his next solo sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, which the actor officially debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live last month following a deluge of set photos. That suit of currently unknown origin replaces the blue of the original Stark suit with black, and will presumably be worn when Spider-Man faces off against new threat Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War — The Art of the Movie is now available to own on Amazon.

Avengers 4 opens May 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters July 5.

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