‘No more Zendaya, please!’: A ‘Spider-Man 4’ rumor may suggest that a fan-favorite character might be recast
This doesn't make any sense though - Zendaya is the real MJ of the MCU.
Tom Holland and Zendaya are one of my favorite Hollywood couples. Their relationship is adorable on and off screen. In the MCU, Zendaya plays Peter Parker’s smart, witty girlfriend Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, a variant of the same comic book character, who is white with red hair. With me so far?
Now no one seems entirely sure whether Zendaya is returning for Spider-Man 4 or not. We know she’s seen the script after Holland revealed that back in 2024. “Zendaya and I sat down and read it together, and we at times were bouncing around the living room like, ‘This is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect.’ But there’s a few things we need to figure out before we can get that really going, but it’s exciting,” he said.
Will Zendaya be in ‘Spider-Man 4’ after all?
We also know that it would be a little tricky getting Zendaya in the movie considering what happened at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. No Way Home united Spider-Men from across the multiverse, but it was Holland’s Peter Parker was the subject of a spell that erased him from the memory of everyone who’d even met him. That included MJ, and when Peter next saw her, she didn’t remember him at all. It was so sad. But could the spell be broken in the next film?
Well… maybe not. Rumors are circulating that neither Zendaya nor Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds are going to be in Spider-Man 4 at all. According to leaker DanielRPK, who can be a generally reliable reporter, director Destin Daniel Cretton wants to take the film “in a new direction.” This might mean bringing in members of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who haven’t been seen in the MCU live-action movies. This could mean seeing more supporting characters such as Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson, or maybe even Miles Morales. Spider-Man 4 is such a question mark that it honestly feels like anything could happen at this point.
Reactions to the rumor on X, formerly known as Twitter, were mixed. “No more Zendaya, please! Let’s get the real MJ in the next film, but Ned should remain,” one person wrote. This doesn’t make any sense though – Zendaya is the real MJ of the MCU, she’s just not white and red-haired. Is Spider-Man supposed to be running into another person called MJ Watson, is that the idea?! No! I’d be totally up for them dyeing Zendaya’s hair and giving us a glimpse of supermodel MJ, however.
Marvel fans want more new characters in ‘Spider-Man’ movies
“Get Daredevil and Punisher in there, make it more street level Spider-Man,” another person said. Well, Daredevil has already appeared in a Spider-Man film, he was a cameo in No Way Home, so no-one can say he can’t be in a Spider-Man movie. He’s about to conquer the small screen with the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again, and after that, who knows.
Other people on the thread suggested bringing Black Cat in as a new love interest and, if we have to lose Zendaya, that’s not a bad idea. Black Cat hasn’t had much love in the Spider-Man movies so far. Felicity Jones played her in the rather ill-fated The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but she never got to don her classic costume or have a romance with Spider-Man.
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Personally, though, I’m rooting for more MJ and Zendaya. She and Tom Holland deserve to spend as much time together as possible before they get married!
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