When redhead Emma Stone was cast as flaxen blond Gwen Stacy in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, people wondered why she wasn’t cast as the redheaded Mary Jane Watson. The answer appears to be a simple one: Mary Jane Watson isn’t in the reboot.
The Wrap is reporting that Mary Jane Watson will not be a character in the upcoming reboot and apparently she never was.
Rumors ran rampant that MJ was going to enter a love triangle with Gwen for the affection of Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker. But according to The Wrap’s source, MJ was never in any version of James Vanderbilt’s screenplay.
As an old school comic book fan, I’m glad to hear this. Gwen Stacy was Peter’s first big love in the comics, and her death was one of the moments that most defined the Spider-Man as a character. Mary Jane did not enter a romantic relationship until after Gwen was killed off.
It doesn’t look it will happen, but it would be cool if they introduced Mary Jane in the film the way they introduced her in the comics. In the book, she was the oft mentioned but never seen niece of the Parker Family’s neighbor, Anna Watson. Peter’s Aunt May kept trying to set him up with MJ, but Peter resisted, thinking any girl Aunt May would recommend wouldn’t be date able. When they finally were introduced and MJ turned out to be a redheaded bombshell, the joke was on Peter.
