MCU
The reasons why Spider-Man’s mask is CGI in many scenes of his movies
There is a new controversy on the horizon: Marvel used CGI for the masks in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Was it really necessary? The answer is yes, and for compelling reasons.
The use of CGI and all kinds of computer-generated special effects is not uncommon in major film productions, especially in superhero movies like Spider-Man. However, these visual effects are often found in the most unexpected places, as can be seen in the Making Of. And it turns out that in movies like ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021), the masks worn by Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland in some of their scenes were CGI for a very simple reason: the difficulty of quickly putting on a real mask.
Why Marvel uses CGI in Spider-Man’s masks
Although the average viewer won’t notice it, elements such as Spider-Man’s mask in scenes where it is removed to reveal the actor’s face are CGI in films such as 2021′s No Way Home. To the trained eye, it can be relatively easy to spot these visual effects, with some “discrepancies” such as how what is theoretically webbing should behave.
It just so happens that the actors never wear a mask or anything to cover their faces when they shoot these particular shots, but instead pretend to put one on. A mask is then added in post-production. The reasons for this may seem absurd, but they are not:
- Putting on a mask quickly and looking good on camera is not as easy as it sounds.
- By pretending to wear a mask instead of a real one, the actors do not ruin their hairstyles; this eliminates the need for hairdressers to redo their hair with each new take. No time or money is wasted.
- In the scenes in which the actors wear real masks, they are not only made of fabric, but also have solid internal structures that allow the mask to retain its characteristic shape, something that would not be possible with a textile material alone. In other words, technically speaking, the actors aren’t just putting on a mask, they’re putting on the mold that gives it its shape. Shooting a scene with real masks in this way would be a long, tedious, and immersive process.
Bottom line: If you see one of the Spider-Man actors (Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, or Tobey Maguire) in the Spider-Man costume with the mask already on, it’s probably part of a physical costume and there are no special effects. But in the scenes where they cover their faces by putting it on or taking it off, it is CGI.