Can't Wait for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'? Check Out Peter Parkour

What's This?

By T.L. Stanley2014-05-02 03:00:16 UTC

What if Spider-Man runs out of the silky strong web that spits from his wrists? How will the high-flying superhero impress his girlfriend, thwart bad guys and save New York City?

With his own two feet, obviously. He’s Peter Parker, after all. Or, rather, make that Peter Parkour.

A just-launched short film, inspired by Sony’s much-anticipated Friday release, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, aims to show how the costumed crime-fighter could navigate rooftops, skyscrapers, fire escapes and ledges using only his nimble body. Footage was shot in part with a drone and a Freefly Movi, a lightweight mobile camera.

The 3-minute video comes from Contagious, an L.A.-based creative, production and distribution firm, and stars Ronnie Shalvis, a popular YouTube personality whose jaw-dropping Parkour exploits have garnered millions of views and 186,000 subscribers to his Ronnie Street Stunts channel.

See also: 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' Hosts First Google Hangout With Movie Stuff for Sale

Contagious, working for Sony, married another of its clients, Shalvis, with the project because he’s a lifelong Spider-Man fan. He’s also no stranger to entertainment tie-ins, having starred in a Star Wars-themed Parkour video that Contagious produced.

“We think this is an example of a brand working smart with a YouTuber and being comfortable enough to do a promotion that’s not company generated but user created,” said Cameron Manwaring, a principal at Contagious and director of the video.

So even though Andrew Garfield is physically ripped and chiseled for his Spider-Man starring role, he’s not the one doing handstands on top of buildings in this non-CGI-enhanced video. (The twisting, somersaulting, cartwheeling, back-flipping Shalvis, meanwhile, is trying to become a full-time Hollywood stunt man and coordinator). The video, filmed around Provo, Utah, is up to 760,000 views at this writing.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, also starring Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Sally Field, opens Friday and kicks off the summer popcorn flick season. Variety predicts it could pull in as much as $100 million during its first weekend at the box office.

Us magazine called it “a rare big-budget superhero movie that should please both old-school comic books aficionados and anyone simply craving a sweet, fizzy love story,” though Time said the action movie is “a web of missed opportunities.”

Sony has been heavily hyping the movie for months, buying pricey TV time (a Super Bowl commercial) and linking with Shazam for an app that will give fans a sneak peek into the criminal rouge’s gallery known as The Sinister Six.

Check out the "making of" video here:

Topics: Advertising, Business, Film, Marketing, parkour, sony, Spider-Man, viral video

Image: YouTube, Ronnie Street Stunts