The magic of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” comes from many artists.
While watching the movie in theaters, a scene that may blow you away is a uniquely rendered animated LEGO sequence that surprisingly was created by Preston Mutanga, a 14-year-old high school student.
Variety reports the opportunity was presented to Mutanga after he shared on Twitter a shot-by-shot LEGO rendition of the original trailer for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” on Jan. 2.
I recreated the entire Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer in LEGO! @philiplord @chrizmillr @terry12539 @LEGO_Group @SpiderVerse #LEGO #SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse #animation #Blender3d pic.twitter.com/kYY19go7Fc
— LegoMe_TheOG (@FG_Artist) January 3, 2023
Producers of the movie, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, caught wind of the post and were highly impressed.
“We found out that it was a 14-year-old kid who made it and we were like, ‘This looks incredibly sophisticated for a nonadult, nonprofessional to have made,” Miller told The New York Times. “It blew us all away, including some of the best animators in the world.”
“I instantly got hooked on it,” Mutanga said, according to Variety. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos to teach myself certain stuff.”
When Mutanga’s parents learned their son had a chance to work on graphics for a film, they were hesitant and questioned the legitimacy of the offer, CNBC reports. However, they were eventually sold, and Mutanga’s father aided his son by purchasing a new computer that would support high-end graphics.
While on spring break and at night, Mutanga worked on animating the LEGO sequence for “Spider-Man,” and he would check in with Miller to receive feedback.
“One new thing I learned was definitely the feedback aspect of it, like how much stuff actually gets changed from the beginning to the final product,” Mutanga told The New York Times.
looks like I can officially confirm it now-
yes, I animated a part for #AcrossTheSpiderVerse! it was honestly such an amazing journey and working with @philiplord, @chrizmillr, @CSteinberg9, and the rest of the spider-verse team was a dream come true. you guys absolutely ROCK pic.twitter.com/QnSZrcOf99
— LegoMe_TheOG (@FG_Artist) June 7, 2023
“I adored the first movie and was so hyped for the second one, so getting to work with the people who actually made this masterpiece was honestly like a dream,” Mutanga expressed, according to The New York Times.
Looking ahead, Mutanga aspires to become a full-time animator.