Kirsten Dunst is no stranger to the world of Spider-Man. Having played the web-slinger’s lady love in the original Sam Rami Spider-Man films, Dunst brought Mary Jane Watson to the big screen back in the early 2000s. But, how does Kirsten Dunst feel about Zendaya’s portrayal of MJ?
With Spider-Man: No Way Home making over a billion dollars at the box office, everyone not only has Spider-Man on the brain, but MJ as well.
6. Kirsten Dunst Was The First MJ
Kirsten Dunst was cast as Mary Jane in the original Spider-Man trilogy. Said trilogy was not only well-received by critics and fans but was one of the franchises that spawned the modern comic book movie, making the MCU possible. Dunst’s portrayal of MJ was part of the reason the trilogy became a box-office hit. Kirsten paved the way for future actresses and set a standard by which the character would be measured.
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5. Kirsten Dunst Hasn’t Seen ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Yet
Kirsten has a storied career, not to mention a pretty crazy 2021 in her rearview. According to People, Kirsten said as much during an interview, “I haven’t. I’m sorry!” The actress said before laughing, “I know I have to. I know Tobey’s in it, and it’s such a huge surprise and everyone’s freaking out. I will. I’ll eventually watch it. You know, I’ll watch it with my son because he’s starting to get into Spider-Man stuff. There’s, like, a little-kid version of Spider-Man that he watches, so maybe he’ll watch it with me,” Dunst went on to mention what the legacy of the franchise means to her, “It’s such a cool legacy to be a part of, and to be the first one and be a Spider-Man fan… I feel like that’s a really special thing because these fans have lived with these movies for so long and have grown up with it. It’s legacy things that feel really exciting. It’s nice to be excited about something. All of us are dealing with so much right now.”
4. Kirsten Dunst Wouldn’t Mind Returning To Play The Role Of MJ
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During an interview with Variety, Dunst had this to say about reprising her role as Mary Jane, “I would do it. Why not? That would be fun,” she continued, “I would never say no to something like that. I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies.” Kirsten seems to still have the “MJ” bug in her system, as she has also mentioned that she wouldn’t have been opposed to showing up in the Amazing Spider-Man movies. According to hellogiggles.com, Dunst mentioned as much, stating that she wanted to be featured in the Andrew Garfield Spider-man films. “I wanted to be in that movie so badly,” Dunst said. “I loved it, and I wish we could have made a fourth,” which she ended with, showing that she still has fond memories for most things Spider.
3. Zendaya’s MJ Seems To Be Polarizing Among Fans
Ever since Zendaya’s casting as MJ in the MCU, fans have been divided. The Disney actress clearly doesn’t sport the traditional look of Mary Jane, and when having to fill the large shoes left behind by Kirsten, some fans have decided Zendaya’s MJ isn’t as faithful. At the end of the day, even though Zendaya’s version of MJ is actually more comic book accurate than her critics may realize, fans will likely remain divided as a major change of a beloved character is never easy to accept.
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2. Zendaya Found Inspiration For Her Version Of MJ In An Unexpected Place
Zendaya has found inspiration in many places for the MCU’s fiery redhead. When asked what attracted her to the character, Zendaya explained why she was attracted to MJ and where she drew her inspiration, “One of them was Daria and John (the director) was like ‘do you know Daria?’ and I was like ‘yea, like the cartoon?’ and he was like ‘yea, like Daria’ and I was like, ‘yea. Word, I can do that!”
1. Kristen Dunst Has Thrown Some Shade The Way Of The New Spider-Man Franchise
During an interview with Variety, Kristen was asked how she feels about the new Spider-Man franchise, to which the actress playfully threw a little shade the way of the new Spidey-verse, “I don’t care. Everyone likes our Spider-Man. C’mon, am I right or what? Listen, I’d rather be in the first ones than the new ones.” I think that answers that. Kirsten may not be a big fan of the current Spider-Man films, but there’s no doubt there’s a special place for the wall-crawler in her heart.
