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I’ve spoken in the past about how indie projects hold a special place in my heart. This primarily comes from my own personal experience in building Nerdgenic. I understand what it takes to have a vision for something and spend countless hours, money, and other resources to make your vision come to life. This is why I’m so excited when I come across fan films and not just any fan film. But projects that are created by a team of remarkable people, that have a passion for what they are doing, and why they are doing it.
This brings me to the topic of this article. Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan is a fan series created by a passionate team, and this project’s overall aesthetic, story, and theme are extremely cool. The official teaser was uploaded a month ago, and has already received around 400,000 views with over 1,000 comments! And these comments aren’t bots or any type of spam, these are genuine people who are showing their support and appreciation for this project!
In this article, I’m going to share my thoughts on this project. I’m going to talk about the story, and the talent behind it, and share with you why I think you should be just as excited for this film as the many people who’ve already shared their enthusiasm.
What is Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan?
Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan is a story about Peter Parker, and this one follows Peter in the early stages of his career. Kingpin has big plans to take over Manhattan, and a young and inexperienced Peter Parker must defeat him. This will be no small feat for Peter. He’ll have to battle the demons of his past and protect his neighborhood, all while forcibly growing up in the process.
From what I can gauge by the trailer and description, Peter will be put through the wringer here as many other villains from Spider-man’s rouges gallery are poised to make an appearance.
Sam Raimi Inspiration
One of the first things I noticed after watching the trailer for Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan was the quality of the production. Everything about this film is extremely impressive, from the visuals and set pieces to the character costumes. You can tell that this team is really going all out to make this project something special. Production-wise, they’ve decided to shoot this project using the Blackmagic Ursa Mini, an extremely high-quality production-level camera that is used in many Netflix series.
The team behind the project was heavily inspired by Sam Raimi, and you can see this not only in the spidey suit that Peter Parker dons in this film, but you can also see it in the darker tones and costume designs of the villains, especially Scorpion.
An interesting note about the Scorpion costume we see is one of its creators is Rashaad Santiago. Rashaad has worked on the Demagorgon costumes for the Stranger Things Netflix series. The goal of this team was to give us a Sam Raimi feel by using practical effects and puppeteering instead of relying heavily on CGI. And from what I see here, it looks like it will be paying off.
Why This Has Us Excited?
I’m excited about Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan for a few reasons. The first is the unique vision and talent we’ll see on screen. This isn’t just another Spider-man story that’s being told, this is a unique project that looks to give us a version of Peter Parker we haven’t seen in quite some time. Played by Brandon Melo, Peter Parker is in his high school years and is just finding out the type of person and hero he wants to be.
Brandon Melo
Brandon is the director and lead actor on this project. He’s an entrepreneur, actor, and model who has been acting for over a decade. Brandon now age 23, originally came up with the idea for a Spider-Man web series when he was 19 years old. Since then he’s been working hard to perfect his craft and bring his vision to life.
His passion for the character of Peter Parker really shows in his performance. Brandon describes his love for the character as a lifelong passion. He’s viewed him as a role model and has used Peter Parker as his inspiration to help him achieve his own dreams.
All of this seems to fuel Brandon’s performance, so be prepared to reconsider who your favorite portrayal of the character is. The fact that Brandon not only stars, and chose to direct the project, but he and his mother worked to fund this project all on their own from the very beginning, and that is something truly inspirational.
After watching this trailer and learning more about this film, I think Brandon is just as much of a hero as the character he is portraying.
The Tone
I’ve already talked about the Sam Raimi’s inspirations in Spider-Man: Monsters of Manhattan, but the overall tone of this series is promised to be a mix of Stranger Things and Cobra Kai, two series that have an immense following. This first season will have 30-minute episodes and be told in 5 parts, and each episode is promised to be entertaining. This series definitely appears to have a mix of both light and darker tones, but I’m curious as to exactly how dark it will be.
We already see a slight jump scare when Scorpion appears, and it will be interesting to see how deep into horror territory they go with this project. Judging by the attention to detail we see in the costumes and set pieces, I’m confident the story and tone will hold our attention and provide an enjoyable experience.
How You Can Back This Project
Now that I’ve shared why I am so excited about his project it’s time to talk about how you can back this project if you’d like. Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan has an Indiegogo campaign. There you can support the film and help them reach their project goals.
If you’ve never backed a project on Indiegogo before, this may just be a good time to start. This is a non-profit project, there is no studio swooping in to ensure this project is fully funded so in order for creative projects like this to be made it’s up to fans like us to make it happen.
There are a variety of different contribution options, and you’ll receive rewards that range from a special thank you in the credits to a Blu-Ray copy of the film and a personal thank you video from Brandon in his spidey suit!
The team also has stretch goals that allow them to make the production bigger and even better than it already is by creating better action sequences and providing other character cameos.
If you choose not to support the project financially, you can show your support by sharing their campaign or trailer on social media. The more people that know about this amazing work the better!
I also recommend subscribing to Brandon’s YouTube channel. There you can watch the trailer, as well as stay up to date on this project as the episodes release.
Final Thoughts
I sincerely think that the Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan project is impressive. It’s a pleasure to see so many people work together to create something unique for everyone to enjoy. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share this with you all. I wish Brandon and his team the very best with this film and hope they not only meet but exceed their production goals. It will be nice to see where this project goes, and I will be following up on this project in the coming weeks.
Thank you for taking the time to read about this project! Are you interested in the Spider-Man and the Monsters of Manhattan, and would like to know more? Let me know by leaving a comment down below.
