With no Mary Jane in sight, Zendaya takes one of the female leads as Peter Parker’s bestie in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Just in time for summer, Spider-Man: Homecoming makes a new splash on the big screen with new characters, a new relationship with Tony Stark/Iron Man, new villains, and of course, new best friends, including Michelle played by teen sensation Zendaya.
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter (Tom Holland) returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened. Peter may be young, with the everyday pressures of any teenager, but his moment has arrived as he is challenged to become the hero he is meant to be.
Talking about her character, Michelle, which has remained a mystery for some time, Zendaya reveals that she’s Spider-Man’s nerdy friend who may have some secrets. “My character is very smart, intellectual – but I’m not gonna lie: she’s super-weird,” says Zendaya. “She’s super-cool to me, because she’s constantly thinking about something, sits back and observes, and only says little things – but what she does say is very true and real.”
“When I was 16, my first date was to see Spider-Man. And now here I am now in a Spider-Man movie. Pretty crazy.” —Zendaya
“Even y the end of the movie, we don’t know everything that’s going on with Michelle,” says Tom Holland. “But she seems to follow Peter and Ned around quite a lot, so that might suggest there’s a friendship to progress in the future.”
For Zendaya, being a part of Spider-Man: Homecoming was a dream come true. “My first reaction was that this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” she says. “Everybody says ‘I always was a fan of Spider-Man’ but to be completely honest it’s true. The character was always my favorite growing up because I always felt like he was like the realest superhero. He wasn’t born with his powers, it just happened to him. He’s not well off financially; he deals with tragedy and normal everyday problems like paying rent and helping around the house, which I always was cool. I think that’s why a lot of people like Spider-Man; you can connect to him. When I was 16, my first date was to see Spider-Man. And now here I am now in a Spider-Man movie. Pretty crazy.”
“The movie is full of diverse, real characters,” she continues. “We got to explore what it was like to be a regular kid, because at some point, everybody was an awkward teenager. Everybody goes through that tough phase and awkward moments. Even if you thought you were like the coolest kid in high school, you probably weren’t. We all look back on things that happened in high school where you think, ‘Yo, that was embarrassing.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters on July 7.
Zendaya main image: ©Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Sony Pictures/AP Images
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