Sony Snuck a Bunch of BMW E39 M5s into Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The world of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is canonically one of the best places for car lovers. Not only because there are new Yugos, but also because of the disproportionately high number of BMW E39 M5 models casually cruising around New York City, being so bold as to street park in the Big Apple though they lack Peter Parker’s and Miles Morales’ “spider-sense.”
It’s Thanksgiving, which means we’re all going to eat turkey and watch movies; obviously, that means gearheads are going to geek out on car cameos. Bikes, too. So, I’m going to need you to rewatch Into the Spider-Verse, which features some of the coolest animation we’ve seen in a Marvel film so far, and because it’s a veritable treasure trove for car lovers with its cast of Lexus sedans, VW Golfs and even Ford Excursions. There are the new Yugos, of course, and the BMW M5s, the specific model that’s arguably one of the best BMWs ever.
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Within the first few minutes of the film, there are E39 M5 sightings galore. First, as Peter Parker saves the city countless times, and reminds us of his cringy dancing. Then later, as the lovable Miles Morales makes his way to school. Parker’s Spider-Man punches what looks like an M5 in the first few seconds, which wouldn’t bode well if that were the only cameo, but it’s not.
The BMWs keep popping up, and that makes me think someone at Sony Pictures Imageworks is a big fan of the E39 M5. It’s obvious the artists behind the film were trying to be efficient with their animation, and reused objects wherever possible. That makes perfect sense for taxi cabs and police cruisers, all of which seem to be modeled after the beloved Ford Panther platform.
But inserting a sports car that’s as distinctive as the BMW E39 M5 had to be a deliberate choice. It’s not like the E39 M5 is that boxy or simple to render in the unique art style of the film. If that were the case, every car in the Spider-verse would have to something less intricate, like a Volkswagen Jetta mark four, or Jeep Comanche, or Chevy Corvette C4. Clean lines.
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And yet the BMW E39 M5 is depicted so often in the background of the film that it stood out to me. That’s probably because I’m always on the lookout for BMWs from the nineties and aughts in every film I watch. I’ve developed a Bav-dar of sorts, I guess. Did you know World War Z features a 318ti, for example? In any case, go watch Spider-Verse again and revel in the world Sony created, full of some of the best sedans and hatchbacks of the aughts.
