Preston Mutanga

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I Helped Create the Spider-Verse

How did a kid from Canada get to work on one of the year’s biggest movies?

As You Read, Think About: If you got the chance to work on a movie, what job would you want?

Spider-Man swung back into movie theaters earlier this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales as he visits other universes. Along the way, he meets many other Spider-People. Each of them was created in a different style of animation. 

About 1,000 crew members worked to bring the Spider-Verse to life. One of them was 14-year-old Preston Mutanga. Here’s how the teen from Milton, Canada, landed his dream job. 

A Bright Idea

Preston has been using special software to make 3-D Lego characters since he was about 9 years old. He’s made dozens of short videos of his Lego creations for his YouTube channel. Preston is also a big fan of the 2018 movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. When he saw the preview for the sequel last December, Preston got an idea. What if he made a Lego version?

“It would be a cool experiment,” Preston recalls thinking.

For two weeks, Preston worked on his project on a computer in his bedroom. His short video was identical to the original preview except everything was made of Lego pieces. Preston posted the video online on January 2. He was shocked by the response.  

“All of a sudden, it just started blowing up,” Preston says. 

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Part of the scene Preston created for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Dream Come True

Preston’s video eventually racked up hundreds of thousands of views. Among the fans of his work were the people creating Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. They contacted Preston to set up a meeting on Zoom.

During the call, the filmmakers told Preston they wanted to include a Lego universe in the movie. They showed him storyboards, or sketches, of what the scene would look like. Then came the best part. They asked Preston to create the scene!

“I was super surprised,” he says.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Preston at work on his home computer

Movie Magic

Preston spent about three months creating the Lego scene. He worked on the project during spring break, on weekends, and after finishing his homework on school nights. One of the biggest challenges? He had to keep his new job secret from everyone but his parents.

Preston finally got to see his scene on the big screen in May. He was invited to the premiere of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Los Angeles, California. 

“I loved seeing the audience’s reaction to my scene,” he says. “It was just really heartwarming.”

By mid-September, the movie had earned nearly $690 million worldwide. It was one of the biggest films of the year. Preston says his journey into the Spider-Verse shows that you should always follow your dreams. 

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you, ‘Oh, you’ll never achieve this,’” Preston says. “No, you can. Honestly, you can.” 

Get to Know Spider-Man

© Caters News/ZUMAPRESS.com/Newscom

The character Miles Morales became Marvel’s first Black Spider-Man in 2011. He lives in a separate universe from the original Spider-Man.

© Caters News/ZUMAPRESS.com/Newscom 

Spider-Man first appeared in Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy comic book in 1962. In 2021, a copy of that first comic sold for $3.6 million.

© Jonathan Alcorn/ZUMA Press/Alamy Stock Photo

Stan Lee

Writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko teamed up to create Spider-Man. He is a teen named Peter Parker who gained superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. 

Lee considered calling the character Fly-Man, Insect-Man, or Mosquito-Man.

  1. How did Preston Mutanga’s Lego trailer first get attention?
  2. Based on the article, what are storyboards?
  3. What is the purpose of the sidebar, “Get to Know Spider-Man”?
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