Directors Anthony and Joe Russo don't think the other film iterations of Spider-Man are bad, but they are adamant about changing how the character is depicted in film. Speaking with ComicBook.com, the directors discussed how Captain America: Civil War's Spider-Man will differ from previous portrayals.

"We took a very personal approach to the character," Joe Russo said. "He was my favorite character growing up, so the opportunity to bring Spider-Man to the screen is a dream come true."

"We're bringing Spider-Man into the movie in [Captain America's] universe, in that specific tonal stylistic world," Anthony Russo added. "It's a little more grounded and a little more hardcore contemporary."

The duo is pulling the character out of the more colorful, comic book-based world that Spiderman usually resides in, and grounding him "the world that we live in," to make the "experience of watching [him] more passionate and more well-rounded."

It was also important to the Russos to cast a teenage actor. "The previous films had adults playing a high schooler," Joe Russo said. The directors wanted "more authenticity" in Spidey's casting, like the energy and insecurity you'd expect to find in a teenager.


Moving past Spidey, the brothers revealed that "a lot of shocking things are going to happen" in the film. Civil War, they said, is the start of a "profound experience" within the Marvel Universe.

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016. Chris Evans, who plays the Cap himself, recently discussed his character's evolution in the new film.