Why Won't They Confirm that Zendaya is NOT Playing Mary Jane Watson?

There's a lot more to be written in supporting my belief that Zendaya is playing Spider-Woman in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING or its sequels. I'll come back to the theory later.


A lot of people are asking why Marvel won't make a statement to address the rumor that Zendaya is playing Mary Jane or "MJ". There is speculation that Marvel doesn't want to spoil the movie, although if the rumor is true, then the movie has been spoiled beyond repair.

Why WOULD They Hide the Real Identity of Mary Jane?

Image copied from Wikipedia.org; I don't own the rights to this picture!

It's been done before, and makes total sense to the beginning of Peter and Mary Jane's relationship. In the comics, Aunt May tried to set Peter up with a blind date, but he wasn't really interested. The girl stayed hidden in several comic issues, with her face covered by other people and objects, until the surprise reveal. Mary Jane turned out to be a hot redhead that blew Peter away. He underestimated Aunt May's matchmaking skills. Mary Jane greeted Peter by saying: "Face it, tiger ... you just hit the jackpot!"


I think that if Marvel plans to introduce Mary Jane at some point, it would great to throw back to the original story. Marisa Tomei, who plays Aunt May in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, is young and it's believable that she would have the right taste in a date for Peter.


People are speculating that Peter Parker needs a date for the Homecoming Dance in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING. He may not go to the dance with Liz, because Aunt May will set him up with Mary Jane. I think that that's very plausible, but I don't think that Mary Jane is Michelle. I believe that Marvel is searching for the perfect actress to play the iconic sassy redhead, since they took their time in finding the perfect Peter Parker (Tom Holland). It's possible that a Mary Jane actress has already been found. I wouldn't be surprised if she's a relatively unknown or 1st-time actress.


Previously, I wrote about the call sheet that is missing the character slots of several names. What if 1 of them is Mary Jane? If she is going to be in the movie, but she wasn't on the call sheet, then it's possible that Mary Jane isn't a student at Peter Parker's school. Maybe she's from a rival school, or she'll be a new student at the end of the movie. The possibilities are endless. Moreover, keeping Mary Jane out of Peter's high school makes it that much of a surprise to him when she shows up to be his date.

Bending logic to make Michelle as "MJ" work

If Zendaya is going to be a believable Mary Jane, several things probably need to happen in the movie:

• Michelle has to stop wearing dumpy clothes, and brush her hair. Makeup would be nice.
• Michelle needs to stop being "dry" and "awkward".
• The audience has to forgive and forget that Michelle was kind of a beyotch to Peter in the beginning of the movie, if the Comic-Con trailer is a good indication of their relationship.
• There has to be a good reason for her name change.

 Also, there will be consequences:

• the reveal of Mary Jane won't be as thrilling. The audience's reaction will be, "oh, it's Michelle?". It would be awesome if we could all react like comic readers and Peter did when the story was first published. "Wow, that's his blind date? We didn't see that coming!" 
• It's kind of an insult to comic book fans to make Michelle be "MJ" or Mary Jane. The ugly duckling to swan story is not an accurate description of Mary Jane Watson.
• Stunt-casting Zendaya as "MJ" or Mary Jane in her movie acting debut is risky. Zendaya may never live it down if the critics and fans pan her portrayal of "MJ". I like Zendaya and I don't want to see her fail because of a misguided acting choice.

If Marvel wanted Zendaya as Mary Jane from the beginning, then why would they set up these obstacles for themselves? What's the point?

J.J. Abrams admitted that lying about Khan was a mistake

Image copied from Gizmodo.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

I think that there was a lesson to be learned from J.J Abrams lying that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't playing Khan in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, only for us to find out that the rumors were true. The lesson was: don't lie to your fans.


Marvel is doing a better job with the Mary Jane rumor. They don't have to address the rumor, and I don't think they will at all. The suspense and anticipation is building up the hype for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING.


People are assuming that because Marvel hasn't addressed the rumor, that the rumor is indirectly being confirmed. I don't think people are thinking about the possibility that it's not an either / or situation. Zendaya's role could very well be a secret, but that doesn't automatically mean she's playing Mary Jane. There are several other options that she could be playing in the Spider-verse. Mary Jane isn't the only female character in the comics.

Somebody else who is playing an unconfirmed role

Image copied from IMDB.com; I don't have the rights to this picture!

This isn't getting as much publicity as the Zendaya rumor. Donald Glover has already wrapped up filming for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, but we still have no clue who he's playing in the movie ... because Sony is keeping it a secret.

Why aren't people reporting that Donald is playing Mary Jane Watson? Is it just because he's male? I think that a gender swap on Mary Jane Watson could work in this day and age.

The simplest reason why Marvel won't confirm the MJ rumor

We've already been told who Zendaya is playing, at least twice.


Deadline first reported that Zendaya was playing a character named Michelle.


Director Jon Watts told Comic-Con that Zendaya's character name is Michelle.


If Zendaya is truly playing Michelle, then Marvel has no reason to make a statement on a rumor that doesn't have a basis in truth. Maybe fans are asking Marvel to lie to them? Those who don't believe that Zendaya's playing Michelle, are probably not going to be convinced if Marvel comes out and states it 1 more time. They will hold on to their theories until the movie opens in theaters.


Marvel will probably keep quiet if Zendaya is playing a secret character, NOT "MJ" or Mary Jane Watson. The speculation about "MJ" is distracting from what I strongly believe is really going on: that Marvel has the perfect Mary Jane Watson waiting for the big screen, and that Zendaya is playing a character matching her talents as a physical entertainer.


What do you think?


Sincerely,


A Comic Girl