A few weeks ago I wrote an article on 11 properties Marvel could make Netflix shows based on, and in that list I included our favourite Web-Head. Many people had problems with this, and provided reasons on why it wouldn’t work. I still believe that it would work if executed properly. With a TV show Marvel could flesh out the characters a lot more than they could with movies. It would cost a lot less too. If the CW are able to translate characters like the Flash onto the small screen and make them look good, there is absolutely no reason why Marvel/Netflix couldn’t do Spider-Man justice. To get the character right they would have to have the perfect Peter Parker. I reckon Dylan O’Brien would make a brilliant Peter Parker, he has the looks, and he can pull off being nerdy while also being a smartass at the same time. (Check out his performance in The Internship, and also his ongoing performance in the show Teen Wolf). He has a goofiness about him that would be perfect for portraying Peter Parker. He also proved he can do action with his performance in ‘Maze Runner’. Casting has never really been a problem for Marvel before, it seems almost anybody they cast for any role pays off in the end so I trust them completely to cast the right person for Peter Parker.
Of course, one of the greatest things about Spider-Man is his supporting characters; Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson. The list goes on and on. Marvel would have no problem picking and choosing which supporting characters should show up, and when. One of the other great things about Spider-Man is that his rogue’s gallery is better than almost anybody else in Marvel Comics. With characters like Hammerhead, Kingpin, Alistair Smythe, Chameleon, Big Man, Boomerang, Kraven and Shocker, Marvel would have no shortage of villains to use. The best thing about the villains iv chosen is that they would all need little to no CGI to translate to screen. If Marvel wanted they could have more CGI heavy villains show up from time to time, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Venom, Carnage, Electro, Rhino, Lizard, Vulture, Scorpion, Vermin and Sandman to name a few. One of the problems people think a Spider-Man show would face is that they wouldn’t be able to make the more CGI heavy characters look good. I believe that they would easily be able to do most of the characters I’v just named, justice. For Doc Ock’s tentacles they could use the puppetry trick that some blockbuster movies use. Same thing for Scorpions tail. Sandman wouldn’t be that hard to do either, Smallville had a villain with similar powers to Sandman all the way back in 2005, if they could do it 10 years ago there’s no reason why it couldn’t be done now. Electro would be simple to do, keep him more like his comic book counterpart than his ASM2 appearance and it would be simple to achieve. Electricity is apparently one of the easiest things to create digitally, so they would have no problem having Electro show up. They could have Eddie brock show up as an antagonist before the Venom suit makes an appearance, same with Cletus Kasidy. Norman Osborn and Harry Osborn could be series regulars all through the first season without them necessarily being main villains similar to Malcolm Merlyn and Tommy Merlyn in Arrow.
If Marvel are indeed planning on having Spider-Man play a role in Captain America: Civil War, then a TV show would be a perfect way to give the character some backstory before he shows on the big screen. Dylan O’Brien is an actor that would be able to transfer over to the big screen without a problem. That’s what a Spider-Man show would need, a lead actor that would be able to seamlessly step over onto what’s going on in the movies, but still be able to hold his own TV show.
Do you also think that Spider-Man would make a great Netflix show? Sound off with your comments below, all feedback is appreciated.