Filmed on a shoestring budget, this unlicensed ‘Spider-Man’ movie was embroiled in in a racism scandal.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
Internet Culture
Posted on Aug 8, 2023
Following in a long tradition of fanmade movies, Spider-Man: Lotus was filmed on a low budget, raising . Premiering last week, it’s a non-profit project due to its unlicensed relationship with Marvel. Soon, you’ll be able to watch it on YouTube for free.
Unlike most fan films however, Spider-Man: Lotus has attracted a lot of media attention – and controversy. So what makes this amateur movie so special, and why do so many people hate it?
What is Spider-Man: Lotus?
Directed by Gavin Konop and starring Wayne Warden, Spider-Man: Lotus is an emotional take on the Spidey mythos. It initially gained attention because its first trailer displayed surprisingly high production values, prompting fans to fund a full-length release.
Offering a more character-focused tone than the official Tom Holland movies, the story explores Peter Parker’s grief for Gwen Stacy.
This week Spider-Man: Lotus premiered in LA, with a guest list of excited Spidey fans. However it didn’t earn such a positive response online, mostly due to a racism scandal involving the lead actor and director. So when you look up the premiere, you’ll find a ton of posts joking about it being a Klan meeting and generally mocking the film’s existence:
Why is Spider-Man: Lotus so controversial?
Last summer, fans uncovered racist social media posts from both Gavin Konop and Wayne Warden. These included anti-Black slurs, and the resulting controversy led to the discovery of homophobic voice memos from Konop. Some of the film’s Indiegogo backers asked for refunds, which Konop said “wasn’t feasible” at the time.
Konop apologized for using bigoted language, acknowledging that while some of the viral screenshots were fake, others were certainly real. “In my early years of middle school & high school, the R-word, along with other unacceptable terms such as the F-word, were part of my vocabulary,” he wrote. (Both he and Warden were teenagers when they started working on the film.)
Warden also posted a lengthy apology, saying that he was “raised in a homeschool conservative environment” surrounded by bigoted beliefs. “My ideas of right and wrong were skewed,” he wrote, explaining that he’d worked to change his behavior over the past four years.
However the film’s reputation never recovered from this scandal. Following the premiere this week, people flooded its (now-deleted) Letterboxd page with negative reviews. So while Spider-Man: Lotus managed to attract more buzz than some “real” indie movies, its brand is still inextricably linked with racism.
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*First Published: Aug 8, 2023, 11:42 am CDT
First Teaser Trailer for ‘Spider-Man: Lotus’ Fan-Film Arriving in 2022
by Alex Billington July 19, 2021Source: YouTube
«It was the greatest mistake of my life… and everyone else is paying for it.» While we wait for the next real Spider-Man movie to arrive, there is an intriguing new fan film on the horizon. From GJ Konop, Spider-Man: Lotus is a fan film in development now aiming to be released in 2022 — and the first teaser trailer has dropped. This version of Spidey is more of a throwback to the earlier comic book version, referencing stories like ‘Spider-Man: Blue’ and ‘The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man’. Though GJK says he’s also inspired by Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, of course. Following the tragic death of his former girlfriend – seemingly caused by his own attempt to save her – Peter Parker lingers in his guilt of the past… When he’s met by the news that a terminally ill child has requested to meet Spider-Man, Peter contemplates the decision to comfort him in his final days. Warden Wayne stars as Parker, with a small cast including Sean Wythe, Moriah Brooklyn, Tuyen Powell, and Max Fox. Very curious to see more from this project — check out the first look below.
Here’s the first teaser trailer for Gavin J Konop’s fan film Spider-Man: Lotus, direct from YouTube:
Official description from YouTube: «Following the tragic death of his former girlfriend – seemingly caused by his own attempt to save her – Peter Parker (Warden Wayne) lingers in his guilt of the past, questioning whether the curse of his alter ego should be buried for good. When he’s met by the news that a terminally ill child has requested to meet Spider-Man, Peter contemplates the decision to comfort him in his final days.» Spider-Man: Lotus is being directed by filmmaker Gavin J Konop, aka just «GJK», follow him on Twitter @gjkcentral or Instagram @gjkcentral. «We decided to primarily take inspiration from ‘Spider-Man: Blue’ (along with many other stories during that era such as ‘Death & Destiny’ or Gerry Conway’s run) and ‘The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man’, two grounded stories that focus on the melancholic life of the character.» For more info on the project, visit . They’re still in production, with plans to debut Spider-Man: Lotus sometime in 2022. Follow @gjkcentral for more updates. First impression? Look good so far?
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