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Spider-Man producers didn’t recognize Zendaya during her first audition.
Speaking recently to Vogue, Amy Pascal — who served as a producer in the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy — revealed that she and the Marvel Studios president “didn’t know” who Zendaya was when she tried out for the role of Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“She was wearing no makeup and she was just dressed like a regular girl, and we were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing. She has to be in the movie,’” Pascal recalled. “And then we found out she was a totally famous person, and felt really stupid.”
Zendaya ultimately landed the role of MJ in Homecoming and reprised the character in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home and 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Before starring in the Marvel franchise, the actor had fronted the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, among other TV roles, and competed in Dancing with the Stars Season 16.
Since starring in three Spider-Man movies opposite her co-star and boyfriend Holland, Zendaya landed major roles in HBO’s Euphoria and the science fiction franchise Dune. Next, the actor will star in the tennis drama Challengers opposite Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Spider-Man became a career milestone for both Zendaya and Holland. Speaking to Vogue, the actor said she admires how her boyfriend dealt with overnight fame after first portraying the superhero in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
“We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight,” she recalled. “One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man. I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.”
Zendaya’s 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, which ended in September 2023. Meanwhile, lead star Holland told Collider last year that starring in a fourth film would “have to be worth the while of the character.”
