Unseen Lizard concept art from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) have hit the web thanks to professional concept artist Constantine Sekeris (Spider-Man 3, Thor, Grimm). The movie was an unqualified success, grossing over $783 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. But, what if the movie had been slightly different?
The art was first reported by NailBiter111 on Comic Book Movie. Here's what he said about them:
"Some of you may be shocked to learn that director Sam Raimi was initially planning to have Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker) turn into The Lizard for Spider-Man 2. He, along with Dock Ock, Black and Harry (James Franco) as the new Green Goblin, were all to be featured in the sequel, but screenwriter Michael Chabon suggested narrowing the field down to just Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina).
"So, as I was scouring through Constantine Sekeris' website today I came across concept art of a reptilian figure. I asked the artist if it was for The Amazing Spider-Man. He then emailed me back explaining that it was actually created a long time ago for Spider-Man 2 when the choice of villain(s) was still up in the air."
The biggest problem with Spider-Man 3 was the number of villains. If Spider-Man 2 had four villains it would have been insane. I contacted Constantine and asked him a few questions about the pieces to get more information.
Click on the jump to read my interview with Constantine and see pictures of the Lizard. Click on the images to enlarge.
Q: Thanks for this quick interview Constantine. What description did you get from Sam Raimi?
Actually, the lizard designs were done when I was working at Steve Johnson's Edge FX years ago. Steve and I were in a meeting for another Marvel movie and, by chance, Marvel brought up the lizard as one of the options for the Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. This was long before the movie was in production and, to get Marvel excited, I did those designs in hopes of working on the film.
Back when I worked at Edge FX, we were very aggressive in getting projects and so Steve would let me loose and start coming up with designs to get clients excited and to set meetings up for possibly working on the film and getting the work. We never met up with Sam Raimi to discuss the Lizard character. By the time the movie was in production Dr. Octopus was already decided as the villain.
Q: What was your inspiration for the designs?
The inspiration came from the comics and I did what I thought Marvel would like to see in their movie. Back then practical fx where still used more than today, and so I was designing the lizard as a guy in a suit with an animatronic mouth and another design more in the digital world.
If you want to see more lizard designs, I have more in my book MetamorFX: Art of Constantine Sekeris
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I don't have the book, but you can bet it just went into my "Buy" list on Amazon.
Make sure you get a copy.
See more of Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com and find more about Constantine on my blog here.
Via Comic Book Movie
Official Synopsis:
In Spider-Man 2, the latest installment in the blockbuster Spider-Man series, based on the classicMarvel Comics hero, Tobey Maguire returns as the mild-mannered Peter Parker, who is juggling the delicate balance of his dual life as college student and a superhuman crime fighter. Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) who has been reincarnated as the maniacal and multi-tentacled "Doc Ock." When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst), Spider-Man must swing back into action as the adventure reaches new heights of unprecedented excitement.
Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent
Producers: Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/spider-man2/index.html
What do you think of the illustrations?
@ Copyright 2004 Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marvel Enterprises, Laura Ziskin Productions, Constantine Sekeris. All rights reserved
The head and mouth are really wicked. Agree it would've been way too many villains. Glad the artwork ended up in the book. Shame so many storyboards and artwork are never used in movies.
ReplyDeleteNice! That's great material. It would have been great to see the Lizard in Raimi's version, but it seems the new trend with hero films is to show the lesser villains first, which, in a way, makes sense. Why give the hero his arch nemesis first, right?
ReplyDeleteInsane head Alex. He's a very talented artist, but hopefully more of his work will be shown now.
ReplyDeleteYeah David, once you start at the top its hard to go anywhere but down. I think that's what makes The Dark Knight so special.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Some fans maligned the changes they made to the Lizard when translating him from comics to the movies, but for me the look was perfect- practical and frightening. Likewise, this collection and discussion on design is something I have never seen before- keep up the good work, there is a lot of gold to mine here for fans and artists.
ReplyDeleteShaun, editor for ComicsTheory
Damn, that looks WICKED!
ReplyDelete