Spider-Man: Lotus

After defeating a new supervillain calling himself the Shocker, Peter Parker arrives late to a double date with his girlfriend Gwen Stacy and best friends Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson. After some initial friction due to his frequent absences, Peter plans to propose to Gwen during a planned vacation at the lake. However, Peter's arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin, arrives shortly thereafter, kidnaps Gwen, and takes her unconscious body to the top of the George Washington Bridge. Peter fails to save Gwen, resulting in a final battle between himself and the Goblin, resulting in the latter's death.

Sometime later, Peter has retired from being Spider-Man, blaming himself for failing to save Gwen's life and begins to shut others out. Haunted by the dreams of the night Gwen died, Peter angrily confronts Mary Jane and Harry for not caring about Gwen’s death. Though she is hurt, Mary Jane begrudgingly gives Peter a letter for him to give to Spider-Man, which asks if Spider-Man can pay a young child named Tim Harrison a visit before he succumbs to a terminal illness. Harry, despondent over his father's death and regretting the strained relationship the two of them had, leaves the city and goes on a bender, before returning to New York to visit his father's grave.

Peter arrives at the Harrison's apartment as Spider-Man, meeting and bonding with Tim, who sees Spider-Man as a hero in spite of what the press says about him. However, when questioned about what happened to "the girl on the bridge", Peter convinces Tim that he is not a hero, claiming that his origin was an accident and that he only became Spider-Man for selfish desires. Peter abandons Tim, but Tim's mother convinces Peter to make amends with the boy, wanting to give him hope in his dying days. Peter apologizes and even unmasks in front of Tim, who recognizes Peter as Spider-Man's photographer. Peter bids farewell to Tim, encouraging him to stay strong in the face of fear.

Elsewhere, Mary Jane and Harry begin to patch up their relationship as Peter returns to the cemetery to pay his respects at Gwen’s grave. In the distance, he also notices Tim's grave as well, realizing that even though he may not "want" to be Spider-Man, he "needs" to continue being Spider-Man to inspire others.

• Warden Wayne as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: a 20-year-old superhero who has been active for the past five years
• Landon Konop as young Peter Parker
• Sean Thomas Reid as Harry Osborn: the lonely, drug-addicted best friend of Peter Parker, and son of Norman Osborn
• Moriah Brooklyn as Mary Jane Watson: the best friend of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn's girlfriend, who helps with his grief over the death of Gwen
• Tuyen Powell as Gwen Stacy: the girlfriend of Peter Parker, who died during a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin
• Maxwell Fox-Andrews as Tim Harrison: A terminally ill child whose last wish is to meet Spider-Man
• John Salandria as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin: Harry’s father and the villain responsible for Gwen’s death{{Cite web |date=2023-07-26 |title=Spider-Man: Lotus Fan Film Trailer Reveals the Menacing Green Goblin |url=https://movieweb.com/spider-man-lotus-fan-film-trailer-reveals-the-menacing-green-goblin/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=MovieWeb |language=en}}
• Jack Wooten as Flash Thompson
• Mariah Fox as Ms. Harrison
• Justin Hargrove as Herman Schultz / Shocker
• Paul Logan as Dennis Carradine / Burglar

On January 16, 2021, independent filmmaker Gavin J. Konop announced the development of an upcoming film based on the character Spider-Man. The film was funded by fans through a campaign on Indiegogo, receiving $112,000. According to Konop, it was a dream of his to make a Spider-Man film.{{Cite AV media |title=Spider-Man: Lotus (Fan-Film) {{!}} Announcement Trailer (HD) |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj6w8qzZxxk |language=en |access-date=2022-05-01}} The film is loosely based on two comic books, "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" and Spider-Man: Blue.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-28 |title=Spider-Man Fan Film Drops Trailer for Mashup Adaptation of Two Classic Comics |url=https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-lotus-trailer/ |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=CBR |language=en-US |last=Arvedon |first=Jon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501112821/https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-lotus-trailer/ |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-status=live}}

Later that year, Konop announced the main cast of the film as well as its synopsis and its main theme. The same year the teaser and the trailer were uploaded to his channel.{{Cite AV media |title=Spider-Man: Lotus (Fan Film) {{!}} Cast |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzApOCC20zM |language=en |access-date=2022-05-01}} The script was finished in May 2021, with production beginning in June with principal photography wrapping on August. Filming took place in New York City.{{Cite web |title=GJK |url=https://twitter.com/gjkcentral |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Twitter |language=el}}

In October 2021, the project was recognized by Jon Watts, the director of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man films, who stated that he was "100% supportive" of the film.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-10-30 |title=Spider-Man: No Way Home Director Jon Watts Loves Fan-Made Project |url=https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/spider-man-no-way-home-director-jon-watts-loves-fan-made-project/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=We Got This Covered |language=en-US}}

Spider-Man: Lotus was originally set to premiere in January 2022, but was delayed.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-21 |title=Fan-film 'Spider-Man: Lotus' to highlight Peter Parker's psyche - Daily Planet |url=https://dailyplanetdc.com/2021/05/21/fan-film-spider-man-lotus-to-highlight-peter-parkers-psyche/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=dailyplanetdc.com |language=en-US}} In October 2022, the film’s final trailer was released to YouTube.{{Citation |title=Spider-Man: Lotus {{!}} Final Trailer (Fan-Film) | date=27 October 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKkenubMmBQ |access-date=2023-07-27 |language=en}}

In July 2023, a scene from Spider-Man: Lotus was released on Konop's social media, its runtime of 120 minutes was revealed, and it was set for a release date. It was released on YouTube on August 11, 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-12 |title=Spider-Man: Lotus Fan Film Lands Official Release Date, Poster |url=https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-lotus-fan-film-release-date-poster/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=CBR |language=en |last=Freitag |first=Lee}}

Spider-Man: Lotus held its premiere in Los Angeles, California. It was released on YouTube on August 11, 2023.{{cite tweet|user=GavinKonop|number=1677762297408765952|title=SpiderManLotus will be coming to YouTube for free on August 10th, 2023. Poster by Israel Soteldo|language=en|last=Konop|first=Gavin|access-date=2023-08-13|link=no}}

Spider-Man: Lotus was negatively received by critics. The film holds an aggregate rating of 3.1 out of 10 on IMDb.{{Citation |last=Konop |first=Gavin J. |title=Spider-Man: Lotus |date=2023-08-11 |type=Action, Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13904644/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |others=Warden Wayne, Sean Thomas Reid, Moriah Brooklyn}} Allegra Frank of The Daily Beast called Spider Man: Lotus "a lousy film, technically impressive in flashes but weighed down by disastrous performances, scripting, and direction."{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=‘Spider-Man: Lotus’ Gets Tangled Up in Its Own Messy Web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/spider-man-lotus-review-scandal-plagued-fanmade-film-is-a-mess/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}

Ryan Brown of Pantheon of Film called Spider-Man: Lotus "an insult to Spider-Man", citing poor dialogue, amateurish acting, and the script's heavy reliance on flashbacks. Brown was particularly critical of Warden Wayne's portrayal of Peter Parker. "None of the other live-action Spider-Man actors come close to being as bad of a character adaptation than Warden Wayne’s portrayal."{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Ryan |date=2023 |title=“Spider-Man: Lotus” is an Insult to Spider-Man |url=https://medium.com/pantheon-of-film/review-spider-man-lotus-is-an-insult-to-spider-man-c090b7b90d5c |url-status=live |website=Medium}}

Shortly before the film's scheduled release, several personal messages were leaked online by an anonymous source, who was later revealed to be a former, disgruntled member of Gavin Konop's production team. In these messages, Konop, lead actor Warden Wayne, and Green Goblin actor John Salandria (who also provided stunt coordination for the film) were seen using discriminatory language of both racial and ableist discrimination. Salandria was further exposed for grooming an underage acting student at his school.

In response to the controversy, the special effects team quit the production, leaking most of their finished footage online. The actresses who portrayed Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy distanced themselves from the film and denounced their involvement, while the script was leaked to several websites.

• Batman Dracula
• Batman: Dying Is Easy
• Viva Spider-Man

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• {{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/movies/spider-man-lotus-fan-film.html|title=A Fan Made a Spider-Man Film. The Fallout Has Been Unexpected.|date=August 23, 2023|last=Kuo|first=Christopher|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 23, 2023}}

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• {{IMDb title|13904644}}

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Category:2023 films

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Lotus

Category:Films set in New York City

Category:Films shot in New York City

Category:Indiegogo-funded films