Homecoming The Zendaya is Mary Jane thread

[PeterBenParker]

Will there be fan out rage if she turns out to be MJ?

Yep, tons of it and I'll just laugh it off.

Um... yeah, she looks exactly like how Mary Jane would look if she were biracial.
I don't always approve of racebending (it depends on the context), but in this specific case, I say ****ing go for it, she'll be perfectly fine.

And that's just her on a runway (?), but interviews of her give off a really sassy/spunky vibe that has been needed for MJ for a while now.

She'd be a perfect fit if she is MJ. I'm fine either way, though.

 

[BatsDC]

She looks good with red hair, too. I say go for it

 

[ironwez20]

I hope she is MJ and not whoever Michelle is.

 

[UltimateMarvel]

Oh look! It's MJ!..........................Oh, and Michelle.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

It's official wow

 

[X Knight]

^ what's official??

 

[Frodo]

I really do think Zendaya is playing a character named Michelle and that she isn't really MJ, the same way I think the Samuel character really will be a character named Samuel as opposed to secretly being Harry Osborn.

I think they will end up casting other actors as Mj, Harry, Flash etc, but I wouldn't assume that every classmate actor who's been announced will automatically be characters from the comics and cartoons.

 

[KnuckleBomb]

I really don;t care for the character mj but if she is it might actually make me warm up .
However I don;t want MJ i'd rather Felicia since we already had mj and gwen.

 

[Random490]

I really do think Zendaya is playing a character named Michelle and that she isn't really MJ, the same way I think the Samuel character really will be a character named Samuel as opposed to secretly being Harry Osborn.

I think they will end up casting other actors as Mj, Harry, Flash etc, but I wouldn't assume that every classmate actor who's been announced will automatically be characters from the comics and cartoons.

I believe she's playing Michele because I just don't get why they would both with code names at all.

 

[harryoscop]

Variety didn't mention the name "Michelle" at all in the latest report, but referred to her as a 'mysterious role' instead & the THR said she's the female lead. Most likely, Marvel are keeping her real role under wraps for the time being & not a character called Michelle.

 

[Britney]

I hope Zendaya is MJ and the Samuel character is Harry.

I don't want MCU to finally have Spider-Man and than introduce all new characters into the Spidey universe. I wan't to see classic characters and I don't care if they are different races.

The original reports of Zendaya playing Michelle said she was going to be a small role in this film and expanded in the future. She's also the third person cast in this film and got the role due to lots of screen tests with Holland.

Spoiler

According to a leaked script MJ is introduced in the end of the film as Peter's homecoming date.

If that doesn't sound like MJ I dunno who she would be. I think Laura Harrier is playing Liz Allen and they haven't cast the villains daughter yet.

 

[harryoscop]

"Manuel" guys. It's "Manuel". I'd bet he is playing Harry.

 

[Britney]

Whoops I read Samuel somewhere on the forum and went with it lol

 

[PeterBenParker]

Whoops I read Samuel somewhere on the forum and went with it lol

That was Talion's doing as he believes 'Manuel' could actually be Samuel Alexander (Nova).

Anyways, I agree with you in that I'd have no problems with Zendaya as MJ and Tony as Harry. I care more about the characters personalities and essence being nailed than page-to-film in terms of look/design so that's why I'm very lenient compared to others.

 

[BatsDC]

His whole theory was based on the idea that Sneider misheard "Samuel" as "Manuel".

 

[harryoscop]

This is what Variety said two months ago:

Zendaya was one of a handful of actresses who had been testing with Holland for the past couple of weeks, but insiders stress that the character is neither Parker’s love interest nor a lead role. She will, however, play a bigger part in future installments.

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/spider-man-reboot-zendaya-1201724216/
This what Hollywood Reporter said Yesterday:

Marisa Tomei will play Aunt May, while Zendaya is the female lead. Tony Revolori, who starred opposite Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Laura Harrier, who appeared in the soap opera One Life to Live, are also on board.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/michael-keaton-spider-man-homecoming-891374

 

[Tacit Ronin]

They are easing people into it to mitigate racist outrage.

 

[X Knight]

she can be the female lead, just not as MJ.

 

[JB33]

she can be the female lead, just not as MJ.

This. Sorry if people think I'm racist. These characters mean a lot to me. I want as much authenticity as possible, both in terms of character AND appearance.

It works both ways too. For Black Panther I wouldn't want any of the main characters, besides Everett Ross and Klaw, to be white.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

Difference being that the main characters in Black Panther are from Wakanda and MJ isn't from anywhere in particular that defines her character

 

[PeterBenParker]

They are easing people into it to mitigate racist outrage.

That could honestly be true.

 

[BatsDC]

How surprised will everyone be when it turns out she's Madame Web

 

[X Knight]

This. Sorry if people think I'm racist. These characters mean a lot to me. I want as much authenticity as possible, both in terms of character AND appearance.

It works both ways too. For Black Panther I wouldn't want any of the main characters, besides Everett Ross and Klaw, to be white.

agreed.

I wouldn't want them changing Storm to a white girl or Latina. Nor would I want Cassandra Cain Batgirl ( who is half Asian ) to be white or black.

Difference being that the main characters in Black Panther are from Wakanda and MJ isn't from anywhere in particular that defines her character

while that is true, there are certain characters that are so iconic or ingrained and familiar in popular culture that you really shouldn't change. If you do, you do so at your own peril of backlash.

For example, you could argue that there's nothing about Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Iron Man, Wolverine, or Cyclops that require them to be "white." They could technically be any race. Yet, the chances of seeing any of those characters changed to a different race would be very slim - only in an elseworlds/Earth 2 comic maybe but not in a major film franchise. They are just too ingrained in the public's mind.

With MJ, she does have one physical feature/characteristic that sort of defines her, and that's her red hair. And red hair really only looks natural if the character is Caucasian, like it or not.

 

[BatsDC]

But does her red hair *have* to be natural? The really deep red that I think of when I think of MJ could easily be achieved with hair dye and look good.

 

[PeterBenParker]

But does her red hair *have* to be natural? The really deep red that I think of when I think of MJ could easily be achieved with hair dye and look good.

As long as she has any sort of red hair and it looks good, she's MJ to me. Be it natural or dyed (and more often than not, it's dyed at least in terms of actresses since Kirsten nor Shailene were natural redheads. It's easier to pick someone and dye their hair then to purposely look into a pool of actresses who have natural red hair).

Zendaya has the fortune of having brown hair which works really well when dyed red, so I'm sure it'd look fine on her (as I've posted a few examples before)

Bruce Wayne has blue eyes whereas Ben Affleck has brown.
Peter Parker has hazel eyes whereas Tobey Maguire had blue.

Where is the demand for proper comic book eye color?