14-year-old says working on LEGO Spider-Verse scene was ‘like a dream’
There’s a LEGO scene in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse animated by a familiar 14-year-old, and working on the film was a dream for him.
Note that this article features spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
You might not have guessed that a LEGO minifigure is one of Miguel O’Hara’s best Spider Society agents, but much like the 14-year-old who brought one of the most memorable moments in the new animated movie to life, there’s potential in some of the most surprising places.
Also known as Legome_TheOG on YouTube, Preston Mutanga is the animator who impressively brought multiple Spider-Verse trailers to life in digital LEGO bricks and has now confirmed officially that they animated the LEGO scene on Earth-131222 in the sequel.
Speaking with The New York Times, Preston Mutanga, his family and more of the team behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has revealed how this incredible opportunity came to pass.
It all started with a video recreating the first trailer uploaded to Youtube in December 2022.
“My dad showed me this 3-D software called Blender and I instantly got hooked on it,” Mutanga shared. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos to teach myself certain stuff.”
The team behind the Spider-Verse sequel saw Preston’s project and was instantly hooked on the visuals and smooth, but distinctly LEGO animation.
“We found out that it was a 14-year-old kid who made it and it looked incredibly sophisticated for a nonadult, nonprofessional to have made,” said Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse producer Chris Miller. “It blew us all away, including some of the best animators in the world.”
From there, it was a case of contacting Preston and his family to get him on board, eventually leading to the extended LEGO segment in the sequel. After some scepticism and disbelief following an unrelated hack on Preston’s YouTube channel, Theodore and Gisele Mutanga were eager to help.
From his dad building a new computer with a state-of-the-art graphics card to both parents helping to balance animation with his studies and homework, even the Spider-Verse team helped Mutanga with feedback in meetings every other week.
“The LEGO Movie is inspired by people making films with Lego bricks at home,” Phil Lord explained. “That’s what made us want to make the movie. Then the idea in ‘Spider Verse’ is that a hero can come from anywhere. And here comes this heroic young person who’s inspired by the movie that was inspired by people like him.”
Preston recalled his previous experiences and how they brought him to where he is today. “I also used to make comics when I was younger,” Mutanga said. “Looking back at them now, they’re not the greatest, I’m not going to lie, but it was good practice for telling stories.”
Working on the scene in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse served to be an educational escapade for Preston too, stating, “One new thing I learned was definitely the feedback aspect of it, like how much stuff actually gets changed from the beginning to the final product.”
“I adored the first movie and was so hyped for the second one, so getting to work with the people who actually made this masterpiece was honestly like a dream.”
There’s little doubt that this experience is going to look good on Preston’s portfolio as he continues to pursue his goal of becoming a full-time animator and director. Should the Spider-Verse scene and his trailer recreations be anything to go by, there looks to be a bright future ahead for Preston Mutanga.
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Author Profile
- LEGO has been a part of my life ever since I was young. It all started when my brother passed down 7657 AT-ST to me. It’s guided me through my early years, through school and eventually through my degree in journalism. I still have all my collection proudly on display, including my many NINJAGO sets, my favourite of all the LEGO Group’s themes. Outside of Brick Fanatics I am an avid gamer and enjoy a good game of Dungeons & Dragons.
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