Since recasting actor Tom Holland (The Impossible) in the role of Peter Parker for the upcoming debut of Spider-Man in the MCU, Marvel Studios has come under some scrutiny from fans who might have wished to see another teenage hero don the cobwebbed tights. Following the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate universe, Miles Morales, an original character who is half-African American and half-Latino, was granted similar powers, and with them came the greater responsibility to finally become Spider-Man for a city in need of saving.
As production continues on Captain America: Civil War, which will be the first film to feature Holland as Parker, many might still be clamoring to see Morales' origin story on the big screen. For those, a short fan-film recently uploaded to YouTube attempts some of the grandeur of a major studio film about the newest iteration of the Spider-Man character.
Produced and distributed by Bard Tales Productions, Spider-Man Lives: A Miles Morales Story (see above) offers a brief, low-budget take on Morales' humble beginnings. The film finds the young web-slinger living at home with his superhero-fearing father and ever-vigilant mother, and at first appears entirely unwilling to acknowledge or accept the powers that he has inherited by accident. As Morales, actor Demetrius Stephens shortly comes across a young woman being pursued by the small time crook Kangaroo, whom he makes short work of, and thereafter dons his individually altered, black and red Spidey suit.
None of the actors in the film written and directed by Ivan Kander are particularly great thespians, and the production value is too noticeably bare bones to be seen as anything more than an earnest attempt at bringing the character to life on film. What the production does have is a lot of heart and obvious love for the character and supported mythology, and Stephens' inimitable wit fits in with the established canon well enough to carry the labor of love through to its uplifting conclusion.
It would still be exciting to see Donald Glover cast as Spider-Man in a live-action film, as was once bandied about online by certain fans before Andrew Garfield's Parker become a reality in The Amazing Spider-Man films. But with the Morales character so firmly represented in the featured short film, perhaps there may be hope yet for a cinematic depiction that isn't purely two-dimensional.
Captain America: Civil War will release on May 6th, 2016, followed by Doctor Strange on November 4th, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on May 5th, 2017; The Spectacular Spider-Man on July 28th, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok on November 3rd, 2017; Black Panther on February 16th, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 on May 4th, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, 2018; Captain Marvel on March 8th, 2019; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 on May 3rd, 2019; Inhumans on July 12th, 2019; and three as-of-yet untitled Marvel movies on May 1st, July 10th, and November 6th, 2020.
Source: Bard Tales Productions