Back when Zendaya was initially cast as MJ in Spider-Man there was some negative feedback from the audience. However, Stan Lee decided to speak to the Toronto Sun where he defended the Euphoria actress. Those speaking against the casting of Zendaya accounted it to the fact that traditionally Mary Jane had been depicted as a white redhead. chose to make a statement that skin tone has nothing to do with the character and it is not an integral part of it.
While speaking in an interview with Stan Lee shared, “If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think she’ll be absolutely wonderful.”
He added, “The color of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter, all that matters is that this is the right person for the role.”
The late comic book writer also drew a comparison with the 2003 Daredevil movie where the late African-American actor Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin. He said, “In the Daredevil movie, the Kingpin – who had been white in the comics – he was a black man playing the role, and he played it beautifully,”
Post this, James Gunn the director of took to his social media to defend Zendaya. He wrote, “I do not believe a character is the color of his or her skin. Whatever the case, if we’re going to continue to make movies based on the almost all white heroes and supporting characters from the comics of the last century, we’re going to have to get used to them being more reflective of our diverse present world.”
continued, “Perhaps we can be open to the idea that, although someone may not initially match how we personally conceive a character, we can be – and often are – happily surprised.
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The legendary Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95 later in 2018, and the fandom was shaken at its core. Zendaya took her Instagram to share a tribute and wrote, “The legend himself. Thank you for all you gave us. I could not be more honored to be a very small piece of your world. Rest in Superpower.”
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