SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Co-Director Reveals Why Doctor Octopus Was A Woman In The Movie

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Co-Director Reveals Why Doctor Octopus Was A Woman In The Movie

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featured a female version of Doctor Octopus, and one of the movie's co-directors has explained the reason for changing the villain's gender. Find out more after the jump!

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By JoshWilding - May 11, 2020 02:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Into The Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvented many of the web-slinger's iconic foes in memorable ways, but one of the biggest changes was Doctor Octopus. Introduced as "Liv," we would soon find out that she was actually Olivia Octavius, Earth 1610's version of Doc Ock. 

It was a clever twist, and one which definitely made for a more unexpected plot beat than introducing a typical, pudgy scientist called "Otto" who was revealed to be the multi-tentacled villain. 

Now, co-director Rodney Rothman has explained that the reason the villain's gender was changed is because fellow filmmaker Bob Persichetti actually came up with the idea due to his real-life friendship with actress Kathryn Hahn. This made the actress only the second person to play Doc Ock on the big screen, with the other being Alfred Molina in 2004's Spider-Man 2. 

We don't really know what form the sequel is going to take, but more of this character would be great to see. However, something tells us we can expect more fresh takes on classic comic book baddies.

Check out Rothman's comments below:
 

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Se4M4NSt4ine
Se4M4NSt4ine - 5/11/2020, 3:00 AM
Don’t know what it was, but she really creeped me out. Was a welcome change, nevertheless.
DudeOfThunder
DudeOfThunder - 5/11/2020, 8:29 AM
@Se4M4NSt4ine - For me, it was her lack of humanity. She did not care about harming another person. All she wants is to see the results of her experimentation. Someone who has absolutely no empathy and is incredibly intelligent is terrifying. She is one of the hundreds of reasons why this movie was so great and well-thought out
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/11/2020, 3:07 AM
Really liked the design, and Hahn was great in the role. Especially liked how the softer/inflatable tentacles looked in motion.
Amazing movie, got big shoes to fill for the sequel.
Canon108
Canon108 - 5/11/2020, 3:31 AM
...nothing in the article reveals why though.
Odin
Odin - 5/11/2020, 3:38 AM
Made sense in the context of the movie. Alternate universe and all. I did not see coming until the reveal.
And the character was intriguingly made with the little screen time she had. She said that her friends call her Liv and enemies call her Doc Ock. Later aunt May said "Oh, great. It's Liv." Could've been sarcasm or maybe May and Doc have some history.
Canon108
Canon108 - 5/11/2020, 3:42 AM
@Odin - I liked it too, it was a nice change. The article doesn't reveal their reasoning though, lol.
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 5/11/2020, 3:44 AM
I wouldn't change a thing about this film. Perhaps the best cbm.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/11/2020, 4:00 AM
It was a really well executed reveal, and worth the change for that alone. But the characterization was still great and memorable as well, as she towered over the other villains in the film.
Twenty23Three
Twenty23Three - 5/11/2020, 4:17 AM
In a film like this with multiple dimensions it’s the safest time to do something like this without cry babies losing their mind. I mean I have no doubt some probably still did but its a war that can never be won
BraveNewClunge
BraveNewClunge - 5/11/2020, 4:18 AM
Such a shame the Spiderman rights are all over the place......these films would be a great addition to Disney +.

Would be nice if they could reach some sort of deal for this to happen as to my knowledge Sony don't have a streaming platform..or do they?
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 5/11/2020, 5:44 AM
@ClungesOfPrey - it's on Netflix.
JonAwesome
JonAwesome - 5/11/2020, 7:53 AM
@ClungesOfPrey - that would be cool! They could make a deal with Sony to stream all of their family friendly movies. Then they would have the MIB franchise, Smurfs, cloudy with a chance of meatballs etc. I wish Disney Would have an add on subscription for all of their Fox catalogues. That way they can keep their clean, family friendly Disney + but also have an option for all the cool movies they got in the merger.
BraveNewClunge
BraveNewClunge - 5/11/2020, 11:37 AM
@JonAwesome - an add on subscription is a great idea that way I could watch the alien movies etc
BraveNewClunge
BraveNewClunge - 5/11/2020, 11:37 AM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - sweet might watch tonight.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/11/2020, 4:28 AM
Off topic: Rest In Peace, Jerry Stiller.



I hope you’ve found serenity now.
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 5/11/2020, 5:30 AM
"My name is Olivia Octavius"
Me:


Damn good twist and thank f*ck Sony, for once, didn't spoil the surprise by shoving it in every single trailer.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 5/11/2020, 7:37 AM
@Spidey91 -

I feel like Spider-Verse is the antithesis of a SONY CBM. Great posters, great trailers, tight script and almost zero spoilers got out before it released. A true anomaly.
Knightstar
Knightstar - 5/11/2020, 5:46 AM
Is that even a real reason or a point of fact 🤔
Makiveli21
Makiveli21 - 5/11/2020, 6:04 AM
Yeah let's just change stuff for the heck of it. God I hate Sony.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/11/2020, 7:01 AM
@TheJustinHammer - And every cape movie, show, and comic since the 1940s.
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