FACE IT, TIGER Zendaya, ‘Spider-Man Homecoming,’ and the Beauty of A Black Mary Jane Face it, haters and racists. The upcoming Spidey movie hit the jackpot with model and singer Zendaya reportedly playing the iconic Mary Jane Watson.
JEN YAMATO
08.19.16 2:28 PM ET
Some fanboys will never learn to share.
According to a report this week at The Wrap, former/future Disney actress and musician Zendaya is playing iconic comic book character Mary Jane Watson in Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, opposite Tom Holland as the teenage Peter Parker. According to irate Spidey fans, this is an abomination, as Zendaya—who is biracial—does not “look like” Mary Jane, the love interest traditionally portrayed as a green-eyed, red-headed, very white lady.
“Since Mary Jane is being played by a Black woman, can MLK be played by a White man in a next movie about him?” trolled @keksec__org on Twitter.
“Sorry, but MJ is a white red head. Why can’t we just keep characters the same?” wrote @mattblake94.
“I don’t know what to think of this. I like Zendaya but I also like accurate portrayals of Spiderman,” lamented @DarwinCooper100.
Others decried the move as an insidious example of “blackwashing” which, P.S., is not an actual real thing. So. Zendaya black washing Mary Jane is NOT appropriation, but "whites" playing Egyptians is? — Chase Collins (@ChaseCoolins) August 19, 2016
Being Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man comics always did come with the burden of defying other people’s expectations. When the second-most famous character in Spidey lore was first introduced in 1965 in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #25, Peter Parker had no idea what she looked like—and neither did readers, her face comically hidden behind a potted houseplant.
In a running gag, Aunt May kept trying to set Peter up with the sparkplug girl next door only to have him spend nearly 20 issues avoiding her, convinced she wasn’t his type. When he finally came face to face with Mary Jane, Peter realized what a doofus he’d been—and would spend the rest of his canonical life on-and-off chasing the most important love of his life.
But there’s more to Mary Jane than her red hair or the color of her skin. Those elements were originally drawn into the character by artist John Romita Sr., inspired by starlet Ann-Margret, and replicated in a previous Sony iteration in the casting of actress Kirsten Dunst—who is a natural blonde, by the way.
Fiercely independent, Mary Jane is the most prominent love interest in comics to have her own willful hopes and dreams—and while she supported, guided, and eventually married Spider-Man in the comics, she also turned him down plenty of times, too.
That’s a quality that was hinted at in the trailer Marvel debuted last month at Comic-Con, even if the 7,000 fans in attendance didn’t realize it at the time. In it, Holland’s dorky Peter moons over his dream girl at school while masquerading as his web-slinging alter ego in secret. It’s Zendaya, appearing briefly as an artsy-looking outsider chick classmate of Peter’s, who busts his balls and notices his constant disappearances, as if she’s the only one who really sees him.
Confusion over Zendaya’s secretive role stemmed from the veil of mystery Marvel’s maintained since her casting back in March. When Deadline broke the news that she’d landed a lead role in Spider-Man, she was reported to be playing a character known only as “Michelle” who was also probably not Peter’s love interest—slivers of information that could still be accurate. (Early reports similarly pegged Revelori taking on the role of a character named “Manuel,” but it’s since been revealed he’s playing Flash Thompson—another historically white character in the comics.)
The Mary Jane secret—which Marvel has yet to officially confirm—is reminiscent of the deliberate obfuscation Paramount spent an entire press tour spinning, pretending that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t playing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, only to reveal when the film was released that—surprise!—that was his character’s real name all along. Will it matter very much to the plot of Spider-Man: Homecoming, a stand-alone that serves as a piece of the overarching Avengers-dominated Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe Zendaya’s rebellious “Michelle” will casually reveal that her parents gave her the super-lame name Mary Jane, wink-wink, and Manic Panic her way to flame tresses at the end of the movie, and we’ve all just spoiled a fun little end-credits Easter Egg for ourselves a year early.
The bigger takeaway from this week’s Mary Jane hubbub—which the coolly unflustered Zendaya has yet to deign to address—is not that there are retrograde superfans out there who will loudly whine that progressive casting choices are ruining their childhoods. (Hello again, Ghostbros.) It’s that the pro-Zendaya as Mary Jane horde came out in force against racist fanboy backlash, real and pre-emptively perceived, to passionately support Marvel’s bold and overdue move for what it is: A step forward toward a near-future in which heroes don’t all look like they did 50 years ago.
Not to mention that audiences who can accept a fantasy about a nerd who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and turns into a goo-slinging superhero can spare a little suspension of disbelief.
The July 7, 2017 Marvel tentpole was already shaping up to mark a milestone in diversity even before the Mary Jane reveal hit the web. In casting Tony Revelori, Laura Harrier, and Jacob Batalon for key supporting roles, Marvel and director Jon Watts solidified a vision of a truly diverse Spidey universe—one in which white American teen Peter Parker is surrounded by classmates from different ethnic backgrounds, just like any teen growing up in Queens, New York, the most diverse borough in one of the most diverse cities in the world.
That can be seen as a corrective measure of sorts: Marvel brass demonstrating that they know not everyone in New York looks like Toby Maguire or Kirsten Dunst or Andrew Garfield or Emma Stone, and in turn answering fan demand for greater inclusivity with action. It’s certainly not as bold and refreshing a push as, say, casting a non-white Peter Parker might have been—a fancasting fantasy Marvel apparently wasn’t quite ready for, as Donald Glover’s appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming may end up inadvertently reminding us.
But between Zendaya playing Spider-Man’s Mary Jane, Tessa Thompson playing Valkryie in Thor 3, and Kiersey Clemons taking on the Iris West role over in DC’s The Flash, Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster studios are opening more and more major roles to women of color. That’s not the biggest breakthrough in mainstream comic book cinema imaginable—that would be casting a major leading superhero role against race and gender norms, and not relegating them to playing a love interest or villain. But that day will come. In the meantime, if the overwhelming support for Zendaya’s Mary Jane is any indication of anything, it’s that a vocal portion of the audience is ready to throw down for movies that reflect the future, not the past—and that broad-minded casting choices are increasingly smart business decisions, not just the right thing to do.
By Cooper Hood08.18.2016245 Comments Zendaya in Spider Man Zendayas Real Spider Man: Homecoming Character Revealed?
Marvel Studios and Sony are currently hard at work filming their first team up project, Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will mark the first solo movie for Spider-Man set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following his debut in Captain America: Civil War, audiences were reinvigorated with excitement for the future of the beloved character. This time around, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) will be spending most of his time in high school, and with the homecoming dance featured in the movie, he will need someone to go with.
When Zendaya was initially cast in the movie, who she was playing remained a secret, but it was revealed that she was scheduled to be the love interest. If the latest report is to be true, she will be one of Peter Parker’s most recognizable love interests from the comics.
The Wrap is reporting that Zendaya is not playing a character named Michelle as initially reported, but instead is actually playing Mary Jane Watson. Zendaya does not have the traditional redheaded look of MJ in the comics, and set photos indicate that the look will be a new take on the character.
Both studios have so far done a very good job at differentiating this film from the previous two attempts at a franchise. For instance, they are using a villain, Vulture, that has never appeared on screen, and they’re keeping Peter in high school, which has only been a brief focus in past installments. Having Zendaya play MJ would be the biggest reinterpretation of a character we have seen previously in the movies, but it is hard to have Peter Parker without including Mary Jane.
Previously, director Jon Watts has discussed the need to diversify Queens within the MCU to reflect the real world look of the city, and casting Zendaya as a typically white character is certainly one way of accomplishing that goal. Even though this is not going to be the traditional look of the character, such as how Kirsten Dunst portrayed her in Spider-Man, there is no reason that this should be looked upon with negativity. Zendaya may not look like MJ has looked for the past 50 years in comics, but she will likely embody the spirit of the character, and that is all that should really matter.
Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming– July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018;Avengers: Infinity War – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel– March 8, 2019; Untitled Avengers – May 3, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.
James Gunn, the guy behind Guardians of the Galaxy shared his take on this.
Quote:
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’: James Gunn Fires Back at Critics of Colorblind Casting The "Guardians of the Galaxy" helmer did not confirm the casting, but stated that a character is not the color of his or her skin.
Liz Calvario Aug 20, 2016 4:05 pm @LizCalvario
The changing of races and genders in superhero films is something new that Hollywood has been recently experimenting with in greater numbers. While many dedicated comic book fans get upset when their childhood hero is portrayed differently onscreen, the changing of the role opens up opportunities to many other diverse actors.
This may, however, still be a touchy subject, as the industry has been accused of whitewashing roles (like The Ancient One in “Doctor Strange,” for a recent example), but it also stirs up controversy when it’s the other way around.
This week, rumors surfaced that the upcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming” film had cast Zendaya to play the role of Mary Jane Watson — a character that is traditionally portrayed as white. Now, the singer and actress herself is half black and half white, but that didn’t stop people online from criticizing the news.
Her role hasn’t been confirmed by the studios, though “Guardians of the Galaxy” helmer James Gunn weighed in on the controversy and fired back at critics who were upset by the news.
“I do not believe a character is the color of his or her skin,” Gunn stated in a lengthy Facebook post. “Yesterday, a rumor broke out that the character of Mary Jane was being played by a young black woman, Zendaya, and all hell broke out on the Internet (again). I tweeted that if people find themselves complaining about Mary Jane’s ethnicity they have lives that are too good.”
The filmmaker did note that he was speaking hypothetically about Zendaya since he does not know which role she will play.
“For those of you who think this means I’m confirming that Zendaya IS playing MJ, realize that although I’ve read the Spidey script, and I’ve met the actress in question, I have no idea what her role is. There’s a good chance someone told me at one time or another, but, if so, I can’t remember. I’m going to find out when I go into Marvel this afternoon, but I feel free to speak until that time because it’s about the concept about a black woman playing Mary Jane, not the actuality or hypothesis of it,” he wrote.
“For me, if a character’s primary attribute – the thing that makes them iconic – is the color of their skin, or their hair color, frankly, that character is shallow and sucks,” he continued. “For me, what makes MJ MJ is her alpha female playfulness, and if the actress captures that, then she’ll work. And, for the record, I think Zendaya even matches what I think of as MJ’s primary physical characteristics – she’s a tall, thin model – much more so than actresses have in the past.”
He added that he might not be able to change people’s minds, but changing the race of characters is important so that it can reflect our current society.
“Whatever the case, if we’re going to continue to make movies based on the almost all white heroes and supporting characters from the comics of the last century, we’re going to have to get used to them being more reflective of our diverse present world,” he wrote.
Amy Robach Sorry for Using Offensive Term to Describe Zendaya Coleman
Brian Flood Brian FloodAugust 22, 2016
Amy Robach Sorry for Using Offensive Term to Describe Zendaya Coleman
“Good Morning America” co-anchor Amy Robach apologized for using the term “colored people” when discussing actress Zendaya Coleman and her upcoming role as Mary Jane Watson in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” on Monday.
“This morning during a segment about Hollywood casting, I mistakenly said ‘colored people’ instead of ‘people of color.’ I sincerely apologize. It was a mistake and is not at all a reflection of how I feel or speak in my everyday life,” Robach said in a statement.
“Now we all know Hollywood has received recent and quite a bit of criticism for casting white actors in what one might assume should be a role reserved for colored people,” Robach said on Monday’s edition of the ABC morning show.
The term “colored people” was used during segregation and is often considered derogatory. Mary Jane Watson has historically been a white character, famously played in the Sam Raimi series of Spider-Man movies by Kirsten Dunst.
Oddly, Coleman’s race was also at the center of a controversy when “Fashion Police” co-host Giuliana Rancic mocked her hair, which resulted in Kathy Griffin and Kelly Osbourne leaving the E! show.
Is Zendaya Playing Mary Jane in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'?
Zendaya is starring in the upcoming Marvel movie Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it still has not been confirmed who she is playing!
There have been rumors swirling that the 20-year-old actress is playing the classic role of Mary Jane Watson, but there are other reports that say she will play Michele Gonzales.
In the just released official trailer for the film, Zendaya is seen interacting with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) at the lunch table at school. She makes fun of them and calls them “losers” for ogling the character Liz Allan (Laura Harrier).
Back in August, TheWrap cited two sources close to the production of the film that Zendaya is set to play Mary Jane Watson. The role is definitely the most well-known of Peter Parker’s love interests and the character was played by Kirsten Dunst in the original trilogy.
Click inside to read more details…
Back in July, director Jon Watts introduced the cast of the film at Comic-Con and said that Zendaya would be playing Michele. It doesn’t make too much sense if she is playing the role of Michele Gonzales as the character is Peter Parker’s roommate and an occasional hook-up partner. This role seems to be more appropriate for an older version of the characters, so it doesn’t seem likely that the high-schoolers would be involved in this storyline.
WHO DO YOU THINK Zendaya is playing in Spider-Man: Homecoming