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The film’s IMDB page still lists her as playing Michelle, but industry rumour has it that Zendaya is set to portray Mary-Jane in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Seemingly confirming the reports is an extensive statement published on Facebook by the film’s director James Gunn this weekend responding to criticism of the decision to cast a black actress to play MJ, who’s traditionally been portrayed as white.
“People get upset when something they consider intrinsic to a comic book character changes when adapted for a film. I get this,” he begins.
“That said, I do not believe a character is the color of his or her skin.
“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. 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.”
Gunn then uses his platform to speak more broadly about the need to have more racial diversity in Hollywood.
“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.”
You can read the full post here.
For those with a shorter attention span, the director also took to Twitter to sum it all up in 140 characters or less.
If you’re complaining about the ethnicity of Mary Jane your life is too good. https://t.co/b6XDUpRQ3i
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 19, 2016
Spider-Man: Homecoming will also star Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/ Iron Man.
