Zendaya And Tom Holland Discuss Their Roles For “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
Zendaya finally spoke out about the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” casting controversy and rumors. And Tom Holland discovered his casting as Peter Parker in the most ridiculous way
With yet another Spider-Man iteration hitting theaters (the third casting in the last decade), controversial castings were bound to happen.
It’s old news now, but actress Zendaya was cast in an undisclosed role over the summer. The rumor mill claims she will play Peter Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson.
Of course, nerd outrage hit because if Mary Jane is African-American, how can she have red hair?! Mary Jane has to have red hair! How dare they change things on us! (Note: read with angry sarcasm.)
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week, Zendaya finally opened up about the controversy. And she handled it pretty well:
"People are going to react over anything. But nothing [about who she is playing] is fact. It’s like, you guys are just making s*** up at this point and then reacting to it…but of course there’s going to be outrage over that because for some reason some people just aren’t ready."
Keep in mind that Zendaya’s role is still undisclosed. Nothing confirms that her character is Mary Jane. She actually discussed her character in the same interview and refused give much of anything away:
"My character is not romantic. My character is like very dry, awkward, intellectual and because she’s so smart, she just feels like she doesn’t need to talk to people, like, “My brain is so far ahead of you that you’re just not really on my level.” So she comes off very weird."
Personally, I’m holding out hope that she’s actually Felicia Hardy, who goes on to become Black Cat. You could also make the guess that she plays Gwen Stacy, but with Emma Stone’s version having just kicked the bucket a few years ago, Marvel may not want to confuse their audiences too much.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 01: Tom Holland is seen filming ‘Spiderman’ on October 1, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Steve Sands/GC Images)
In other, hilarious Spider-Man: Homecoming news from THR, lead actor Tom Holland discovered he had been cast thanks to a post on Marvel’s Instagram account. You have to wonder how his agent didn’t get a hold of him first, but what a way to find out you landed a huge role.
Other fun tidbits of information in the interview: Holland has not touched base with either Peter Parker actor. He is also invariably obsessed with Spider-Man and has been since youth (so the excitement he exuberates in Captain America: Civil War is probably just as much acting as it is genuine excitement).
But the tidbit you will want to keep in mind, Holland gives up pretty easily. In regards to his contract with Marvel, he says:
"They give you options, and those could be exercised whenever. Like a cameo in Avengers. I’m unclear as to which movies, though. I do know I have three Spider-Man movies and three solo movies contracted."
It’s a safe bet to say that Spidey makes it through Avengers: Infinity War and continues on through Phase Four. Which is absolutely fine, so long as we don’t have to deal with Uncle Ben dying for a third time (I bring this up every time because don’t make us sit through it again).
Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters July 7, 2017 and it’ll be one heck of a ride. Here’s to seeing just who Zendaya plays.