Zendaya Was Excited To Finally Do Stunts in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Zendaya says she was excited to finally do some stunt work in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The American actor has featured in all three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man films, with her role growing progressively more prominent in each. Spider-Man: No Way Home is primed to hit theaters worldwide on December 17 after several weeks of fervent anticipation from fans.

Initially positioned as a smart but quirky classmate, Zendaya’s Michelle Jones character was only signaled as the MCU’s MJ, a nickname generally reserved for Peter Parker’s comic-book love interest Mary Jane Watson, near the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, as Tom Holland’s Peter tried to muster the courage to ask her out, she correctly deduced his secret identity, and the two only began their relationship once the film’s central conflict was played out. In No Way Home, as the girlfriend of an outed Spider-Man, MJ looks primed to take on her biggest role yet, with the trailers positioning her as a partner in his heroic exploits.

That increase in responsibility certainly seems to have excited Zendaya. When asked in an interview with BBC Radio 1‘s Ali Plumb about her reaction to MJ’s Gwen Stacy-esque fall shown in the No Way Home trailer, she says she and Jacob Batalon, who plays Peter’s best friend Ned, were happy to finally do some stunt work. She declares they both look great in the promotional footage, and explains it was a little unnerving to have to throw herself off something. Check out her full quote below:

Well, I know what was going on in my mind. Me and Jacob had some stunts, so, you know, finally we got to do a few stunts, we were feeling very excited about that, you know? So, that’s what was going through my mind, is how sick we looked. […] It was fun. It’s very unnatural to like, go, ‘Okay, well this is something, and I’m just gonna have to fall off it, just gonna throw myself off it, AHHH!’ [Laughs]

While many fans will be excited to see Zendaya more involved in No Way Home, particularly given her status as one of Hollywood’s most exciting young stars, much has already been made of the stunt shown in the trailer. Gwen Stacy’s fall to her death was a pivotal moment for Spider-Man in the comics, and it was portrayed on screen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, with Andrew Garfield’s version of the hero only just failing to save his beloved. With the multiversal element at play in No Way Home, many fans have wondered if this foreshadows MJ’s death, which would shatter Holland’s Peter in a very significant way.

However, it should be noted that Zendaya’s MJ is in the rare position of being an original character created for the films, neither bound to follow nor react against an established history. So, while it is possible that she dies in No Way Home, it is just as likely that she is destined to take on a superhero alias of her own, whether known or entirely new. Given her status as a box-office draw, it would be surprising to see the MCU give up on Zendaya so soon, and she could have a lot more stunts to do in the future.

Source: BBC Radio 1

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