When Golden Globe winner Zendaya auditioned to play MJ in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," she was already a well-known actress by Disney fans.
Production of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was wooed by her talent but had no idea who the star was.
Zendaya has starred as MJ, the love interest of Peter Parker, otherwise known as Spider-Man, in three movies to date.
The first film released was in 2017 and titled "Spider-Man: Homecoming". Then, she starred in the 2019 follow-up film, "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and most recently, "Spider-Man: No Way Home", which was released in 2021.
Before earning the role of MJ, Zendaya was already established and famous from her early start on Disney Channel. Zendaya starred in the Disney show "Shake It Up" from 2010 to 2013.
She was also the lead of the Disney show "K.C. Undercover" from 2015 to 2018.
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Besides her Disney fame, she also was in multiple music videos, including for Beyoncé, and released music in her own right.
Before auditioning for the movie, Zendaya was a contestant on the 16th season of "Dancing with the Stars," when she grooved her way to second place.
Regardless of her star status before "Spider-Man," Amy Pascal, a producer of the film, as well as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, had no idea who the actress was when she auditioned.
"Neither [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] nor I knew who she was," Pascal admitted to Vogue.
"She was wearing no makeup, and she was just dressed like a regular girl, and we were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing. She has to be in the movie,'" said Pascal.
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After the fact, Pascal and Feige found out who the star was.
"Then we found out she was a totally famous person, and felt really stupid," Pascal shared with the outlet.
The love shared by MJ and Peter on-screen has also translated off-screen. Zendaya and Holland are now one of Hollywood’s favorite couples.
While they keep a lot of their relationship out of the limelight, Zendaya did take time to speak with Vogue about the beautiful way in which her beau has adjusted to fame. Playing Spider-Man was a life-changing role for Holland, causing his level of fame to drastically change overnight.
"We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight," she told the outlet. "One day you’re a kid, and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man. I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully."
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Since playing MJ in "Spider-Man," Zendaya’s career has continued to explode.
A few of her most notable roles since have included Rue in the HBO drama "Euphoria," Chani in the science fiction blockbuster "Dune" and the films 2024 sequel, as well as Tashi in the tennis drama "Challengers."
As far as what the future holds for Peter and MJ, it is pretty unclear.
"All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character," Holland said at a press conference with the Critics Choice Association via Collider back in November 2023. "Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing."
"I feel very protective over Spider-Man," the actor continued. "I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy. So, I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character."
The development of the movie was paused during the Writers Guild of America strike last year.
