10 Actresses Who Could Play Spider-Gwen In The MCU

On Earth-65, Gwen Stacy swaps places with Peter Parker to become the superpowered heroine Spider-Woman, more commonly known as Spider-Gwen. Marvel editors were reluctant to bring her to life, given the character’s iconic death in The Amazing Spider-Man series of comics, but upon her debut in 2014, she quickly became one of the imprint’s most popular characters.

Four years later, in fact, she made her big-screen debut in the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse blockbuster, and now that the multiverse has been introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, odds are there’s a possible MCU version of Spider-Gwen out there somewhere. If she’ll make her MCU debut is anyone’s guess, but the actress who lands the role will land a plum gig with plenty of potential for on-screen adventure.

Anya Taylor-Joy

Despite her acting abilities and various respected roles, Anya Taylor-Joy, at 25, is possibly too old to play a character who gained her powers in high school and crossed over into the central Marvel Comics universe (Earth-616) as a college student. However, it’s unknown how old Gwen would be if she showed up. Taylor-Joy is already a mega-star with a trophy case full of awards and roles in films as diverse as the classics (the title character in Emma, based on the Jane Austen novel) to the fantastic (she’s been cast as a young Furiosa in a forthcoming entry in the Mad Max franchise).

Still, Taylor-Joy would add a supernova’s worth of star power to a franchise that seems to draw marquee names for even the smallest of roles. And if any actor could pull off the character transformation of Spider-Gwen from attention-seeking to crime-fighting, it’s Taylor-Joy, whose addition to the MCU, were she cast in the role, would be a welcomed one.

Elle Fanning

As Catherine in the Hulu series The Great, Fanning is perfect in a role that demands sharp comedic timing and dramatic seriousness, often within the span of a single episode. In addition, she’s no stranger to sci-fi and fantasy films, having landed parts in Super 8 and as Princess Aurora in Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Like other candidates who could capably fill the Spider-Gwen costume, Fanning is no longer a teenager. Thanks to her acting chops, however, she would have absolutely no trouble making viewers believe she’s a college student who happens to climb walls, sling webs, and fight crime by night.

Millie Bobby Brown

If Brown’s star turn as Eleven in Stranger Things taught viewers anything, it’s that she needs to be a part of the MCU. The intensity of her gaze alone communicates entire scenes better than words ever could, and when she does speak, her character commands attention.

In other words, Brown is an actress whose presence in the MCU as Spider-Gwen wouldn’t simply be fan service. It would elevate whatever film (or Disney+ series) of which she’s a part into a true acting showcase as well as one of action and adventure.

Chloë Grace Moretz

She already has one superhero role under her belt — Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass, whose crime-fighting abilities are rivaled only by her salty language. That part alone is enough to nominate Moretz for contention as Spider-Gwen, but when her other films are entered into consideration — up to and including this year’s Mother/Android, a Hulu original in which she transforms from party girl to post-apocalyptic survivor of a robot uprising — it’s difficult to ignore the potential.

Of all candidates for the role, Moretz seems to have a lock on the conflicted nature of Spider-Gwen, who — like Peter Parker/Spider-Man of the MCU — wrestles with inward conflict while putting on a brash and insouciant face to the opposition. Any portrayal of Spider-Gwen, a favorite of comics fans, has to be more than one-dimensional, and Moretz is more than capable of rising to the occasion.

Sabrina Carpenter

Although she shined as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World, Carpenter has focused more on singing and Broadway work than film or TV acting in recent years. Her past experience, however, demonstrates that she’s comfortable in front of the camera, and her various parts as a younger actress mean that she should have no problem revisiting an age that’s integral to any depiction of Spider-Gwen.

Would she be willing to give up, at least temporarily, her full-time dedication to music and touring in order to meet the demands of a Marvel Studios production schedule? It’s a question casting directors for a film that might include Spider-Gwen would have to consider, but Carpenter would be a worthy candidate for the role nevertheless.

Darby Camp

Her trademark curly red locks might mean some viewers have trouble picturing this young actress as Spider-Gwen, but her resumé proves she’s got what it takes. She held her own next to some of Hollywood’s heavy female hitters on the HBO drama Big Little Lies, she’s done family films as Kate Pierce in The Christmas Chronicles and its sequel, and she’s even nailed slapstick with a role in Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Like many of her fellow Spider-Gwen contenders, Camp isn’t a household name — but then again, neither was Tom Holland before he joined the MCU in Captain America: Civil War. As Holland proved, and as an actress of Camp’s caliber could as well, a marquee star isn’t a prerequisite for turning a Marvel character into an MCU mainstay.

Maya Hawke

At 23, Maya Hawke — who got her start as a model before making the leap to acting — is another Spider-Gwen candidate pushing the age range of believability. However, she stole every scene she was in as Robin, whose surprise Stranger Things friendship with Steve was a fan hit during the third season, in which she proved she’s got the wisecracking attitude that’s also a calling card of Earth-65’s Wallcrawler.

In addition, there’s family precedent: Her parents are actress Uma Thurman and actor Ethan Hawke, who will join the MCU himself as a mystery villain in the forthcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight. While it wouldn’t make much sense from a storytelling perspective to cast Hawke as Spider-Gwen in that particular series, it would be a sweet sense of fan satisfaction to see the father-daughter duo on the big screen together as part of the MCU.

Sadie Sink

Another alumnus of Stranger Things, Sink is also closely identified with her red hair … but wigs and dye have worked wonders for actors and actresses of all sexes for decades, so MCU fans would be wise to disregard certain “looks” from previous roles. Besides, as Max, she nailed the complicated family dynamics necessary for Spider-Gwen’s relationship with her own father.

As a 19-year-old, she’s already appeared in television and feature films, Broadway, and the fashion catwalk. Clearly, she’s a versatile young starlet who adapts easily to any role in which she finds herself, and such malleable abilities would lend themselves perfectly to her entry into the MCU.

Elsie Fisher

She’s known primarily as a voice actress (her biggest roles were as Agnes in Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2), but as the breakout star of the film Eighth Grade, she notched a role that could provide invaluable experience. After all, like the Peter Parker of the MCU, this Gwen Stacy starts off in high school and faces social dilemmas as often as her alter-ego fights crime, and what better preparation could there be than another film part that does so as well?

Her personality alone — she held her own on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon during a ridiculous-but-amusing bit where Fallon brought to life a puppet of actor Timothée Chalamet — communicates both innocence and experience, an integral trait for a Spider-Gwen origin story. Whether she’s suited for an action role remains to be seen, but her previous work indicates that she would be more than up to the challenge.

Dafne Keen

As Laura in the Hugh Jackman Wolverine swan song Logan, Keen’s brooding, visceral turn as the X-Man’s young protégé was riveting. As Lyra in the HBO series His Dark Materials, she combined that attitude with the uncertainty of a young girl who discovers a destiny she doesn’t quite understand.

Needless to say, Keen is already closely associated with two significant properties, but not so much so that they would distract fans who would welcome her to the MCU as Spider-Gwen. Given her relatively brief filmography, Marvel Studios would demonstrate savvy gamesmanship by snatching her up for the role before her star shines even brighter.

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