Spider-Man: Kirsten Dunst Unpacks the Movie's Pay Disparity

Kirsten Dunst has had a long and interesting career in Hollywood that began when she was just a child. Now, with an impressive filmography under her belt, Dunst is reflecting on some of her past roles as she promotes her next film, Civil War. Dunst has been answering questions about her days playing Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. She revealed it was "miserable" filming the iconic kiss with Tobey Maguire from the first film, and admitted she hasn't watched any Marvel movies since Spider-Man 3. During an interview with Variety, Dunst also opened up about the pay disparity that happened while making the Spider-Man movies. Maguire reportedly made $17 million when he returned to the role in Spider-Man 2, which was a lot more than her returning salary.

"It might have been more, actually," Dunst revealed. As for her own pay, "It was different. A lot different. And I was in Bring It On and had a track record." However, Dunst also make it clear that money isn't her biggest motivator, and that she regrets prioritizing paydays in the past.

"When I was younger, in my 20s, I didn't have the best guidance, I would say, and I did a couple of duds for money reasons, but nothing that I would have actually done otherwise," Dunst admitted. "I get offered the most money on things I don't want to do. As soon as I took the reins and started to develop my tastes and who I wanted to work with, everything shifted."

What Is Civil War About?

Set in the near-future United States, Civil War follows a journalist (Kirsten Dunst) who travels across the United States during the Second American Civil War. The film is influenced by the increasingly volatile political divisions in the United States and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Distributor A24 describes Civil War as "An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge." Director Alex Garland previously described the film to The Daily Telegraph as "a sci-fi allegory for our currently polarized predicament," and positioned it as a companion piece to his most recent film, Men.

Kirsten Dunst leads Civil War's cast. Nick Offerman, whose voice is heard in the new trailer, plays the President of the United States. The Civil War cast also includes Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Jesse Plemons.

You can catch Kirsten Dunst in Civil War in theaters on April 12th.