SALT LAKE CITY — So how do you make a hero wearing a fishbowl on his head cool?
According to “Spider-Man: Far From Home” costume designer Anna B. Sheppard, you give him a cool cape.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sheppard said one of her first decisions in designing a costume for Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was to create a cape that rivals Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) wardrobe.
“I was always impressed by the cape in ‘Doctor Strange,’ and I said, ‘Okay guys, let’s do an even more beautiful cape,'” Sheppard told EW.
Sheppard incorporated a custom-made purple fabric composed or red and blue thread and an electric lighting system to create a cape with “dimension” that still looks cool. Wires stretched through the cape’s layers connected to a battery pack on Gyllenhaal’s body, which allows the outfit to light up.
“Jake really took to it like a fish to water,” Sheppard said. “He wears it very well. I was afraid because it’s heavy, of course, (and) the armor is quite constricting, and the cape is huge and long. No! He really took it in his stride and never complained.”
The main design of Mysterio’s costume was also created by director John Watts and Ryan Meinerding, Marvel’s head of visual development. Entertainment Weekly reports that the costume is inspired by the character’s original look from the comics, complete with a fishbowl-style helmet.
Peter Parker (Tom Holland) also designs his own upgraded suit in “Far From Home,” which is designed using advanced technology made by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), ComicBook.com reports. In real life, Sheppard chose to dye stretchy white fabric before printing a textured design onto it so Holland would be able to move.
“It has to be stretchy, and it has to withstand a lot of trouble and different gymnastics he does in the movie,” she said. “Plus it has to be breathable because he’s wearing a mask over his face all the time.”
Overall, the suits look convincing and cool enough to present to fans. Fox 56 reports that Holland, Gyllenhaal and Zendaya visited the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles patients in full costume.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is currently in theaters.