The internet was again, predictably, in an uproar when Disney star Zendaya was reportedly cast as Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming Marvel production Spider-Man: Homecoming, which stars Tom Holland. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn spoke about the meltdown recently in a Facebook post, where he said (in part), "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. For me, what makes MJ MJ is her alpha female playfulness, and if the actress captures that, then she'll work."
Now, Spider-Man creator and comic book legend Stan Lee has weighed in on the topic as well, telling the Toronto Sun,
“If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think it’ll be absolutely wonderful … The colour of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter. All that matters is that this the right person for the role.”
What a reasonable thing to say! This isn't particularly surprising on any front. But as Gunn went on to say in his post: "Perhaps we can be open to the idea that, although someone may not initially match how we personally conceive a character, we can be – and often are – happily surprised."
Personally, my feelings are:
For more Spider-Man, check out our recent coverage below:
- ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’: Zendaya Reportedly Playing Mary Jane Watson
- ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Promo Poster Drops In
- ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Adds Michael Chernus as The Tinkerer
- ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Set Photos Get Up Close With Those Web-Shooters
