Spider-Man 3: Zendaya Confirmed to Return as MJ

The third Spider-Man movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to begin filming this summer, but there’s still quite a lot of unknown quantities surrounding the project. The film does not currently have a director or any major confirmed plot details — but we do know one character who will be returning alongside Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker/Spider-Man. As Holland revealed in a recent interview with The Phillippine Daily Inquirer (via IGN), Zendaya will be reprising her role as MJ.

“I’m super happy about it. We will be shooting Spider-Man 3 in July in Atlanta,” Holland explained, saying that the film’s story is “absolutely insane.”

While this is definitely a pleasant surprise, it was something that was safe to be assumed, especially as MJ and Peter developed a romantic relationship over the course of last year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. The film saw Zendaya’s character taking on a much more prominent role, and it’s safe to assume that will continue over the third installment.

“In the first movie obviously you didn’t get to see much of her, but she was like a very guarded, sarcastic, character and I think you get to see why she has that guard, and slowly watch her melt a little bit,” Zendaya said in an interview last year.

Spider-Man 3 will mark a new behind-the-scenes milestone for the web-slinger, after some drama suggested that Sony and Marvel would no longer be continuing their agreement for the character.

“It’s not the end of me playing Spider-Man,” Holland said at Keystone Comic Con last year. “There’s definitely more to come. We sat down with some of our creatives. We pitched Spider-Man 3, which is going to be something very special, it’s going to be something very different. I’m just so grateful that Marvel changed my life and allowed my dreams to come true and Sony allowing me to continue living my dream. It’s a crazy week and it’s never been done before so we’ll see how it goes and it’ll be as amazing and as fun.”

Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1st, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6th, WandaVision in 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022.