Earlier this week, it was revealed that Disney Channel star Zendaya will be playing none other than Mary Jane Watson in Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios‘ highly-anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming. The Spider-Man casting reveal caused quite a lot of discussion from fans who either supported the choice or were very much against it. Guardians of the Galaxy films director James Gunn took notice and addressed the controversy on his Facebook page, posting:
People get upset when something they consider intrinsic to a comic book character changes when adapted for a film. I get this. There are movies I dislike because I think there’s a basic misunderstanding of the story or the character when the comic is transferred to film (I still hate how in the first Batman movie the Joker was revealed as the murderer of Bruce Wayne’s parents, for instance.)
That said, I do not believe a character is the color of his or her skin. When Michael B Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm I didn’t understand the uproar. The primary characteristic of Johnny was not, to me, that he was white, or that he had blonde hair, but that he was a fiery, funny, big-mouthed braggart of a hero. I was happy that he was going to be played by one of the finest and most charming young actors out there.
Yesterday, a rumor broke out that the character of Mary Jane was being played by a young black woman, Zendaya, and all hell broke out on the Internet (again). I tweeted that if people find themselves complaining about Mary Jane’s ethnicity they have lives that are too good. (For those of you who think this means I’m confirming that Zendaya IS playing MJ, realize that although I’ve read the Spidey script, and I’ve met the actress in question, I have no idea what her role is. There’s a good chance someone told me at one time or another, but, if so, I can’t remember. I’m going to find out when I go into Marvel this afternoon, but I feel free to speak until that time because it’s about the concept about a black woman playing Mary Jane, not the actuality or hypothesis of it.)
I got a thousand or so responses to my tweet. Most of them were positive. Some folks disagreed – they thought the character should look like what she looks like in the comics – but were thoughtful. And a handful were flat out racist.
I can’t respond to the racists – I’m not ever going to change their minds. But for the thoughtful majority of you out there:
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.
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. Perhaps we can be open to the idea that, although someone may not initially match how we personally conceive a character, we can be – and often are – happily surprised.
The Spider-Man: Homecoming cast includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Choi, Donald Glover, Michael Keaton, Logan Marshall Green, Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., J.J. Totah, Abraham Attah, Michael Mando, Bokeem Woodbine, Angourie Rice, Martha Kelly and Tyron Woodley. Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Homecoming will hit regular theaters and IMAX on July 7, 2017.
