"It grows on you": Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man creator Jeff Tramell defends animation style

When the trailer for the upcoming Marvel animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was released, fans were worried about the show's look. This was surprising because, ever since the show's announcement in November 2021, Marvel has been clear that the show's characters would look like they did in the 1960s Spider-Man comics, but the time would be the present day.

Showrunner Jeff Trammell recently interviewed with TechRadar, addressing the numerous fan criticisms of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's animation style. Before directing the upcoming animated Spider-Man show, Trammell wrote for other shows, such as Craig Before the Creek, The Owl House, and Craig of the Creek.

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How did Jeff Trammell address Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man animation style?

Spider-Man fans have described the animation style of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as off-putting, weird, rough, lazy, and awful. In the TechRadar interview, Jeff Tramell requested fans give the show a chance. He first spoke about how different Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man looks:

"We wanted to set the show apart [from other Spider-Man animated shows]. Regardless of how you feel about the show, you have to there's nothing that looks like it. There's no Spider-Man that looks like our Spider Man. I think it's important to have one that's ours, and that feels unique [and] very much of its own thing.

He continued,

So, we really wanted to find something that set us apart from everything else, and kind of drives audiences towards us. So if you see our Spider-Man in a line-up, you're like 'that's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'.

He also assured fans that they will appreciate the animation style of the show throughout ten episodes. He said this:

"I think our style grows on you. So, I would say 'give it a chance'. I know there were a lot of initial thoughts about how it looked in the two minute teaser, but I'll also say that teaser is super cut up. Once the show comes out, you'll see those scenes don't play in the way that they play in that trailer. So, just give it a shot, watch it, and let it grow on you. If it doesn't, that's fine, too. I love our look and I think everyone else who gives it a shot will do as well."

Jeff Trammel also gave an interview with Screen Rant, in which he was asked about this version of Peter Parker's place in the wider MCU Multiverse Saga.

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Jeff Trammel clarifies this version of Spider-Man's place in the Multiverse Saga

Showrunner Trammell was asked if the upcoming show's version of Peter could potentially appear in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, The showrunner said that while there might be a potential in the future, currently the animated show is grounded and tells a street-level story. He stated the following:

"I think there's room for pretty much anything in the series, depending on how long the show goes, hopefully, for a very long time. But I will say that for me right now, the important thing is making sure that this is a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I love our kind of street-level aspect. We are primarily a New York-based show.

Trammell added,

There are a few instances where we kind of go a little out of New York that I won't spoil for readers or listeners. But the big thing is setting up this world, and I don't mind branching out of it here and there. As the show goes on, if we were to encounter other Spider-people, that could be cool. But, for the show in itself for me, I think our sweet spot is keeping a street-level, grounded Spider-Man."

Based on what he said, it means that the animated show will focus on street-level crimes. While crossover will be happening, it will be with Daredevil (Charlie Cox), another street-level crime fighter.

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Spider-Man fans also learned that even if Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is yet to come out, the show was renewed for season 3. On January 26, 2025, Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, revealed to The Movie Podcast that the script for the second season is complete and the animatics are halfway done.

He also revealed that Jeff Trammel will begin pitching the third season soon. The first episode of the animated series will begin streaming on January 29, 2025, and concludes on February 19, 2025.