If you can believe it, Spider-Man producers didn't recognize Zendaya during her first audition.
Amy Pascal, the producer of Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy, recently revealed in an interview with Vogue that when Zendaya originally auditioned for the role of Michelle "MJ," she and Marvel Studios The president “has no idea” who Zendaya is. Jones-Watson.
"She had no makeup, she was dressed like a regular girl, and we were like, 'Oh my God, she's great. She has to be in the movie,'" Pascal recalled. "Then we found out she was a very famous person and it felt really silly."
Apparently, Zendaya landed the role of MJ and will reprise the role in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home . But before starring in the Marvel series, she already starred in the Disney Channel series "Shake It Up," among other television roles, and competed on Season 16 of "Dancing with the Stars."
"Spider-Man" became a career milestone for Zendaya and her current boyfriend, Tom Holland. She told Vogue that she admired how Holland became an overnight sensation after debuting as the superhero in 2016's Captain America: Civil War .
"We were both very, very young, but my career had already started and his career changed overnight," she said. "One day you're a kid in a bar with your friends and the next day you're Spider-Man. I definitely saw his life change in front of him. But he handled it beautifully."
Zendaya has since starred in HBO's Euphoria and Dune , and will next star in the tennis drama Contenders Starring opposite Josh O'Connor and Mike Feist.
For now, her future in the Marvel franchise remains unclear. In May 2023, producer Pascal revealed to Variety that plans for another sequel had been halted due to the Writers Guild of America strike that ended in September 2023. Meanwhile, star Holland told Collider last year that starring in a fourth film would be "worthy of the role."
