Emma Stone Was Once Relieved She Didn’t Play Mary Jane Watson in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’
Emma Stone had a memorable role as Peter Parker’s love interest in The Amazing Spider-Man. But unlike Kirsten Dunst, who played Mary Jane, Stone starred as another familiar love interest in Gwen Stacy.
Gwen was an ideal choice for the actor, who later felt fortunate she didn’t have to play Mary Jane.
Emma Stone originally thought she was going to play Mary Jane Watson in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’
Stone was attached to The Amazing Spider-Man almost as soon as the film was gearing up for production. In a 2012 interview with Black Film, the La La Land star revealed that she was contacted for the role early. But she originally believed she was going to play perhaps Spider-Man’s more well-known love interest Mary Jane.
Hearing she’d be playing a different character caught Stone by surprised. Especially since she was eager to play Mary Jane.
“I thought that Mary Jane was so great. A couple of months went by and they called me and said, ‘We would like for you to audition but the part is Gwen Stacy’, and I was like ‘Uh, I don’t know who Gwen Stacy is?’ I haven’t read the comic books growing up,” she said.
But upon further research, Stone found herself growing fond of the character.
“So I looked into Gwen’s story and I just fell in love with Gwen’s story because it is so incredibly epic and tragic, and just incredible in the way it effects peter going forward with Mary Jane, who is another character that I love, obviously,” she said.
Emma Stone once revealed she was relieved she didn’t have to play Mary Jane
After becoming attached to Gwen Stacy, Stone would end up doing a screen test which solidified her for the role. But she noticed there were some stark differences between her character and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane which further endeared her to the part.
Unlike Dunst’s Mary Jane, Gwen wasn’t always depicted as a damsel in distress. Realizing she didn’t have to follow up on Dunst’s own portrayal of Mary Jane also made Stone appreciate Gwen even more.
“I wasn’t playing Mary Jane, so that was a bit of a relief,” she once said in an interview with NY Daily News. “It was nice to start fresh. You’re right, Gwen doesn’t come across as a damsel in distress. She’s incredibly responsible and has to be – she’s the eldest kid in her family, and is constantly fearing that her dad [police Capt. Stacy] is going to die in his job every day.”
She also reiterated how engaged she was with Gwen’s story, and enjoyed how Gwen’s potential character arc might upset fans.
“Any story – story – that causes people to burn their comic books and cancel their subscriptions is a story that I want to be a part of,” she said.
Zendaya reminded Andrew Garfield of Emma Stone’s spirit in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
As many know, Garfield went on to reprise his role as Spider-Man in the 2021 movie No Way Home. The actor had a brief interaction with Zendaya’s MJ in the movie, which he felt was very reminiscent of his own work with Stone.
“The spirit that Zendaya brings to MJ is so heartfelt and pure and loving,” he once told Variety. “Emma brought that similar unique spirit to Gwen.”
