'She is not going to end as being Mary Jane Watson,' says Sony Pictures head Amy Pascal of a character that goes by the nickname 'MJ'.
- Jul 10, 2017
AceShowbiz - If you haven't watched "Spider-Man: Homecoming" yet, then this article may contain a major spoiler for you. There had been speculation that Zendaya Coleman might play Mary Jane Watson in the movie, which the actress strongly debunked later. However, it turns out that her character shares a deep connection with Peter Parker's famous girlfriend.
[SPOILER ALERT!] At the end of the Tom Holland-starring movie, Zendaya's character Michelle, who is Peter's nerdy classmate, revealed that her nickname is "MJ". That's the same nickname as Spidey's longtime comics love interest and future wife, Mary Jane Watson.
Speaking with IGN, producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal talk about what this twist means for Michelle's future. Calling it "a fun homage to his [Spidey's] past adventures and his past love," Feige says they had never intended to use this to surprise fans.
"She was always this new high school character, Michelle, who we know there's an 'M' in Michelle and an 'M' in Mary," he says with a laugh. "So we're so clever and we thought, 'Wouldn't it be neat if her initials were MJ?' And then I think it leaked that she would be playing MJ and then it became a whole headache for Zendaya to have to navigate. It was never a big, 'Oh my God, it's a big reveal!' There are big reveals in the movie. That's not one of them."
Pascal assures us, though, that "she is not going to end as being Mary Jane Watson." Feige adds, "She's not Mary-Jane Watson." Feige also coyly addresses Michelle's future, "Is she going to date Peter? Are they going to fall in love? She seems to be intrigued with him. There's a nice chemistry there. Who knows what will happen in the future films?"
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" has hit theaters across the nation since Friday, July 7. The Jon Watts-directed movie has become a box office success, both domestically and internationally. In its first week, the movie collected an estimated $117 million in North America and a reported $140 million overseas for a global total of $257 million so far.
