Kirsten Dunst, known for her role as Mary Jane "MJ" Watson in director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy, says she'd like to play an older version of the character in a new Marvel film.
"It seems like a lot of movies I do get remade," Dunst told Entertainment Weekly. "It's like a running theme for me." To her point, not only has the Spider-Man franchise been rebooted twice since Raimi's trilogy ended in 2007, but Little Women received a remake in 2019 and Interview with the Vampire is currently headed for a television reboot at AMC. Even Jumanji received a standalone sequel/soft reboot in the form of 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Dunst recalled being cast as MJ in Raimi's Spider-Man after lead actor Tobey Maguire suggested her for the role, noting that the filmmakers even "flew to Germany to audition me. Isn't that crazy?" Regarding the aforementioned Spider-Man reboots, Dunst added, "I wish they'd put me in another one. Like, old-girl Mary Jane -- why not? I would do [another superhero movie]. Everybody else is!"
The actor's comments are sure to evoke memories of Marvel comic books following older versions of established characters, such as Wolverine: Old Man Logan and Old Man Hawkeye. DC even recently got in on the fun with its satirical Old Lady Harley miniseries.
Notably, Dunst is one of many Spider-Man franchise alums reportedly returning for Spider-Man: No Way Home, the upcoming third film in the title character's Marvel Cinematic Universe solo series. No Way Home is already confirmed to feature the return of Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx as Electro. Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield and the aforementioned Maguire are heavily rumored to be reprising their respective versions of Peter Parker/Spider-Man opposite Tom Holland's.
That being said, Dunst herself recently threw cold water on the rumors that she was in No Way Home. "I'm not in that movie, no," she said in an interview with Total Film magazine. "I know there's rumors, right?... No, I'm the only one [not in it]. 'Can't put an old girl in there!'" At the time, Dunst, 39, also confessed that she doesn't really keep up with the MCU. "I haven't seen any of them," she said. "I don't watch superhero movies... I can't tell you the last time I saw one."
However, Dunst also recently provided her theory regarding what her version of Mary Jane would be up to these days, and expressed interest in returning to the role. "I would do it. Why not? That would be fun. I would never say no to something like that," she told Variety. "I'd be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies."
Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., the character of Mary Jane Watson made her first full appearance in 1966's Amazing Spider-Man #42, and would go on to become arguably Spidey's most beloved love interest. Dunst was the first person to play MJ in live-action, starring in all three of Raimi's Spider-Man films from 2002 to 2007.
Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane for director Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, though her scenes were cut from the final film. The character did ultimately return to the big screen, however, being voiced by Zoë Kravitz in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Meanwhile, the MCU's Spider-Man franchise, which began with Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, has its own unique take on MJ in the form of Zendaya's Michelle Jones.
Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on Dec. 17.
Source: Entertainment Weekly