Spider-Man: Homecoming Star Zendaya Says Her Character is Not a Romantic Interest

When the Spider-Man: Homecoming cast was revealed, it was naturally full of young actors, including a few high profile talents. Perhaps the best known wasn’t the new Spidey/Peter Parker, Tom Holland, but instead Zendaya, a Disney star, popular singer, and known face, especially to the younger fans that Homecoming is trying to cater to. But when she was cast, it was without a character name, leading to speculation and rumors. When rumors emerged that she’d be playing Mary Jane Watson, something that has still not been confirmed, there was some racial and racist backlash on the internet.

“People are going to react over anything. But nothing [about who she is playing] is fact. It’s like, you guys are just making shit up at this point and then reacting to it,” the young actress said in an interview with THR. “It’s funny to watch the guessing game. But of course there’s going to be outrage over that because for some reason some people just aren’t ready. I’m like, ‘I don’t know what America you live in, but from what I see when I walk outside my streets of New York right now, I see lots of diversity and I see the real world and it’s beautiful, and that’s what should be reflected and that’s what is reflected so you’re just going to have to get over it.’”

She wouldn’t reveal that character name, but did drop a major reveal about the nature of the character and her relationship – or lack thereof – with Peter Parker.

“My character is not romantic,” Zendaya revealed. “My character is like very dry, awkward, intellectual and because she’s so smart, she just feels like she doesn’t need to talk to people, like ‘My brain is so far ahead of you that you’re just not really on my level.’ So she comes off very weird. But to me, she is very cool because she’s deep. She’s always thinking about something, always reading. I like that. And I also like that I don’t really have to do anything for hair and makeup. I just get to walk in and walk out.”

Spider-Man fans may hear that description and think of someone else besides Mary Jane Watson, as the description seems to fit Liz Allan much more closely. That character, another classmate of Peter’s who winds up marrying Harry Osborne, was known for her intelligence and dry, no-nonsense attitude. Could that be Zendaya’s real character? Well, hopefully she “cracks up” again about “the guessing game.”

Spider-Man: Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts, hits theaters July 7, 2017.

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