‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Cast, Updates: Stan Lee Defends Zendaya’s Rumored Role as Mary Jane; ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Director Endorses Jon Watts’ Adaptation

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is set to feature Zendaya in a yet unconfirmed role as Mary Jane Watson but rumors were met with heavy backlash among fans of the original franchise. Co-creator Stan Lee addressed the rumor defending Zendaya’s casting as MJ. Meanwhile, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ director Anthony Russo endorsed Jon Watts’ upcoming adaptation.

According to IGN, co-creator Stan Lee defended Zendaya’s rumored casting as the new Mary Jane Watson during an interview with Post Media. He said, "If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think it’ll be absolutely wonderful… The color of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter, all that matters is that this is the right person for the role.”

Although Zendaya’s character was originally named Michelle on IMDB, recent rumors speculated that she was indeed playing Mary Jane. The matter of Zendaya’s role as MJ, Peter Parker’s bestfriend and love interest in the original Marvel comic books, was met with much controversy. Fans of the franchise took to social media to air their grievances over having a woman of color portray a character traditionally meant for a Caucasian girl with striking red hair.

MJ was portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in director Sam Raimi’s live-action adaptation from 2002-2007. Dunst was first introduced as MJ in 2002’s ‘Spider-Man’, which earned critical and commercial success. She went on to reprise her role in the sequels ‘Spider-Man 2’ and ‘Spider-Man 3’, respectively.

Zendaya has joined the new cast that includes Tom Holland as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) version of Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, and Marisa Tomei as Peter’s Aunt May.

Meanwhile, ‘Captain America: Civil War co-director Anthony Russo recently expressed his optimism over John Watts’ retelling of the ‘Spider-Man’ story. Speaking with Comicbook.com, Russo said, "[Joe and I] love [Jon Watts]… We think he's an incredibly talented filmmaker, super bright guy." The Russo Brothers worked with Watts for ‘Civil War’, where Holland made his big debut as the iconic web slinger.

Russo continued, "I think the tone and the direction that he's heading in that movie are fantastic… I think it has the potential to be the best Spider-Man yet, and I know that's saying a lot because perhaps my favorite comic book movie of all time is Raimi's Spider-Man 2."

He added, "From a process standpoint, it's like it is with all other Marvel directors… Everybody runs into each other in the hallways, we're passing off story information between each other… [Watts is] crazy talented, the script is amazing, and we have really high expectations for the movie.”

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is an upcoming action-adventure and fantasy film scheduled to be released in theaters on July 7, 2017. It is directed by Jon Watts and produced by Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Entertprises, Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. It is distributed by Columbia Pictures in the United States and Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide.