Spider-Man: Kirsten Dunst Would Play Mary Jane Again in the MCU – Den of Geek

Indeed, when Dunst first starred opposite Tobey Maguire in 2002’s Spider-Man, adapting the popular Marvel Comics character seemed like a novelty. The only major superhero movie franchises on the big screen before Spidey were those revolving around Superman and Batman—both of which had petered out to ignominious ends by the late ‘90s. Sure, X-Men (2000) came out a few years before too, but the idea of doing a colorful, full-steam ahead comic book movie like Spider-Man was viewed as a gamble. And one which paved the way for the MCU.

Perhaps that’s why so many fans are anxiously anticipating this month’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. The third Holland and Zendaya-led Spider-Man movie boasts a plot which uses “multiverse” gibberish to bring back all of the most popular Spider-Man villains from franchises past, including Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from Dunst/Maguire’s era. It’s also led many fans to speculate and share rumors about both Maguire and Dunst appearing in No Way Home.

Of course Dunst did not confirm this with her latest comment, and simply left the door open that she’d be happy to return to a genre that has totally consumed Hollywood cinema in the 21st century. However, this marks a change of tone toward the MCU films after previous comments. It was only in 2017 when Dunst said, “We made the best ones, so who cares? I’m like, ‘You make it all you want.’ They’re just milking that cow for money… I’d rather be in the first ones than the new ones.”

The change of tenor about appearing in modern superhero movies—perhaps even modern Spider-Man flicks—might suggest she’s already considered the idea at great length. And maybe acted on it.

Kirsten Dunst can next be seen in Jane Campion’s buzzy Netflix Western, The Power of the Dog, for which Dunst has received Oscar speculation for her performance. It is streaming now. Meanwhile Spider-Man: No Way Home opens on Dec. 17.