Homecoming The Zendaya is possibly someone, maybe thread - Part 2

[terry78]

They really are going John Hughes with this thing aren't they?

 

[Arachnerd]

I dunno. I could see a transition from insecure, troubled "ugly duckling" ("**** everyone and everything.") to insecure, troubled party girl ("Maybe this will make me happy.") to classic Mary Jane working very well, especially if Zendaya is in it for the long haul. Her character arc throughout the series could be learning to love all aspects of herself - nerdy and glamorous. It might not be what people want, which is fair, but I think it's an appropriate story for a young adult.

As long as they handle it well, I'd accept that.

Though it would be hard for them not to make it seem shallow.

 

[harryoscop]

So we'd have to tolerate essentially an 'in name only', "Michelle Johnson' BS version of the character & wait until movie 3 to get a version of MJ at least semi-comic accurater? Um, no ****ing thanks. I really hope Talion is right about her not being MJ.

 

[Spiderine]

Of all the girls from the Spiderman comics they feel the need to make up one? I have a hard time believing that but if its true that would suck. Is this supposed to be a Rachel Dawes moment for Spiderman?

 

[X Knight]

Jon Watts seems to have taken the idea of a John Hughes film too literally, and seems to only plunder from the Breakfast Club's material. Hughes made other films. And it's only meant to capture the vibe of that era, not to shamelessly rip it off by directly transplanting aspects of that movie into this one. It seems to almost suggest that Watts doesn't really know how to fully make a Hughes movie if he has to plagiarise from that film. Unless it's the screenwriters who are guilty of this plagiarism.

Even something like Back to the Future has a close enough vibe and is from that same era. That kind of template would've been much better than the Breakfast Club.

I would've taken cues from Ferris Bueller and other Hughes movies, but nothing directly lifted like the character types, which the cast in this movie seem to have been forced into just for the sake of it.

yeah. it's like trying to force a square peg into a round hole.

if you are going to use past classic teen films as inspiration, that's fine. but draw upon character types that make sense for the comic book characters you are trying to adapt.

you wouldn't, for example, look at those classic teen films and apply the "dumb jock with a heart of gold" character type to Peter Parker. You wouldn't because that's so totally NOT Peter Parker. It's like the total opposite of Peter. If anything, it would apply to Flash.

It would be like making Raven from Teen Titans into Starfire, or Starfire into Raven. they are total opposite characters - you wouldn't mix and match and misapply their character types.

But that's essentially what they are doing to Z's MJ if she's indeed MJ. It's Bizarro MJ - backwards and opposite and wrong.

 

[X Knight]

Except we haven't seen a faithful adaptation of the MJ character. Kirsten Dunst's interpretation of her (no problem with Kirsten as an actress, she's great but the material she was given was underwhelming) is very much disliked by the majority of the fans. And Emma Stone's Gwen is generally well liked.

Having the character be in name only would be a slap in the face to the majority of Spider-Man fans, so no, I hope they don't go that route. No need for the moronic ugly duckling "Michelle Jane Watson" bullcrap. Zendaya's character so far is nothing like MJ, and these cliches aren't gonna excuse this decision they might have took.

agreed. but at least Dunst's MJ was somewhat close to MJ - closer than Z's version will be. They at least touched upon the whole "party girl facade hides messy homelife" issue with Dunst. And at least she had red hair......lol. Z's MJ isn't even a redhead. Like if you change everything else, MJ should at least be a redhead.

doesn't mean we can't have a more faithful adaptation of the character that explores her character issues more deeply and is better written.

 

[Web-Head]

Ellie Bamber is who I currently want for MJ. She's 19, been in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Nocturnal Animals and is going to be in a Disney Nutcracker movie in 2018.

 

[X Knight]

Ellie Bamber is who I currently want for MJ. She's 19, been in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Nocturnal Animals and is going to be in a Disney Nutcracker movie in 2018.

and she right there looks way closer to MJ than Z's character. That's how MJ should look!

which is why I don't buy the excuse that out of all the young actresses out there, including caucasian girls with red hair, they picked Zendaya because she "tested" the best. And not only did they pick Zendaya, but they deliberately made her plain and homely looking to the point where she doesn't even look like Zendaya!

The whole thing doesn't make any ******* sense.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

It's not even a certainty that she's MJ. You're all worked up over something that so far is still nothing.

 

[harryoscop]

Ellie Bamber is who I currently want for MJ. She's 19, been in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Nocturnal Animals and is going to be in a Disney Nutcracker movie in 2018.

Yesss, I liked her in Pride, definitively my number one choice for MJ now.

 

[Web-Head]

Yesss, I liked her in Pride, definitively my number one choice for MJ now.

 

[harryoscop]

and she right there looks way closer to MJ than Z's character. That's how MJ should look!

which is why I don't buy the excuse that out of all the young actresses out there, including caucasian girls with red hair, they picked Zendaya because she "tested" the best. And not only did they pick Zendaya, but they deliberately made her plain and homely looking to the point where she doesn't even look like Zendaya!

The whole thing doesn't make any ******* sense.

I agree, I don't buy it anymore. I was originally just happy to possibly have an MJ in the movie but i've gotten over the initial shock & now I want a faithful adaption of MJ. Something we've YET to see in the movies. And I'd rather wait for MJ in a future movie than Marvel give us a character who bears her name but shares nothing in common with her as well as LITERALLY going against what she's suppose to be in the comics.

 

[Boy Scout]

So we'd have to tolerate essentially an 'in name only', "Michelle Johnson' BS version of the character & wait until movie 3 to get a version of MJ at least semi-comic accurater? Um, no ****ing thanks. I really hope Talion is right about her not being MJ.

I don't think it's that big of a deal...

 

[harryoscop]

I don't think it's that big of a deal...

Ummm, to fans of the comics/MJ, it IS a big deal.

 

[Arachnerd]

It's not even a certainty that she's MJ. You're all worked up over something that so far is still nothing.

Well, it's not like the things that have been told to us about the character have exactly been reassuring.

1. We know Zendaya's character likes Peter and will become more important in future movies. This raises eyebrows;
2. El Mayimbe's report that started all this madness and confusion;
3. Jon Watts has said he's taking inspiration from John Hughes, and with that Comic Con photo with the cast, we see a clear Breakfast Club nod. Zendaya's character seems to share some similarities with the Allison Reynolds' character, bookish and keeps to herself, who goes through a make-over;
4. The fact that we've been shown stuff from Zendaya that implies that she could make a good MJ if given the right look and opportunity.

Now, I'm not saying that she's MJ with a 100% certainty, but to say there's nothing for people to ponder about with this is seriously hyperbolic on your part.

 

[Boy Scout]

Ummm, to fans of the comics/MJ, it IS a big deal.

If they've created an original named Michelle who's going to take Mary Jane's place and assume her nickname, then yeah, that'd be awful. But that's not happening.

If they're going a less traditional route with Mary Jane, but are taking their time getting there...then I think some of you are overreacting a tad, even if I do understand some of your complaints.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

Now, I'm not saying that she's MJ with a 100% certainty, but to say there's nothing for people to ponder about with this is seriously hyperbolic on your part.

I think it's more hyperbolic to be complaining about it day in and day out like it's a fact when it's not.

 

[Arachnerd]

I think it's more hyperbolic to be complaining about it day in and day out like it's a fact when it's not.

I'm not complaining as if it's a fact.

I'm saying that, in case Zendaya does turn out to be MJ and they do the ugly duckling trope with her and it's poorly executed, it would be incredibly disappointing for fans who wanted another interpretation of the character, more faithful than the Kirsten Dunst one.

Especially since the character hasn't exactly been given good treatment in the comics for about a decade (with the exception of Renew Your Vows).

 

[Britney]

Some Zendaya, just because...

I still really hope she's Mary Jane, or even Felicia Hardy. It would be a waste if they kept her looking the way she did in the trailer, or made her a new character. Regardless, I think she is clearly the love interest for the trilogy.

 

[Arachnerd]

Now that's MJ. t:

 

[Dark Raven]

But the mere fact that she has to go through a transformation to become that either at the end of the movie or at some point in the trilogy is uninteresting and cliched. The pay off isn't enough, because the arc isn't wanted in the first place. It would've been better if they just made her look that way to start with.

 

[Web-Head]

But the mere fact that she has to go through a transformation to become that either at the end of the movie or at some point in the trilogy is uninteresting and cliched. The pay off isn't enough, because the arc isn't wanted in the first place. It would've been better if they just made her look that way to start with.

This I agree with and will be the only reason I don't like her being MJ.

If she started off like that then great, hope she's awesome! Just don't like the whole transformation thing.

 

[Boy Scout]

But the mere fact that she has to go through a transformation to become that either at the end of the movie or at some point in the trilogy is uninteresting and cliched. The pay off isn't enough, because the arc isn't wanted in the first place. It would've been better if they just made her look that way to start with.

Wouldn't it be wiser to wait and see how and if they're doing it before making up your mind?

 

[Arachnerd]

Wouldn't it be wiser to wait and see how and if they're doing it before making up your mind?

The thing is though, we fans are at the same place we were about six months ago in regards to discussing who Zendaya's character is.

With the same lack of information and what's been theorized, some of us tend to assume the worst since we're basically tired of all the confusion and secrecy.

 

[Boy Scout]

True...but this happens with probably every superhero movie. You'd think most of us would be used to it by now.

And for what it's worth, I don't think Zendaya is MJ.