Zendaya is playing a hugely important character in Spider-Man: Homecoming

• Gary Green


• 19 Aug 2016

If you’re deeply excited for Spider-Man: Homecoming as much as we are, turn away now if you wish to save your enjoyment of finding out who Zendaya is playing in an official announcement or a future trailer.

Remember, this is still an uncomfirmed rumour, but according to two sources ‘with knowledge of the project’ (via TheWrap), the Disney Channel star will be playing Mary Jane Watson. Even if you’re only casually familiar with the world of Spider-Man, you’ll be aware that the character is Peter Parker’s key love interest – but hopefully the eventual film will do more with her than merely use her as a motivation for its hero.

This is a nice bit of colourblind casting from Marvel, but will surely upset a portion of the fan community – as is the way with most progressive steps toward a greater representation of a multicultural society. And according to those who have seen some footage from the film (such as BirthMoviesDeath‘s Devin Faraci), Zendaya is great in it – even though at the time, they weren’t aware of the character she was playing.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is released July 7, 2017.