So, we already know that Tom Holland will be portraying Spider-Man, and Marisa Tomei will be playing Aunt May in the forthcoming Spider-Man film. Thanks to our friends at Deadline, we’ve just been granted the identity of yet another actress set to appear in the aforementioned Spider-Man reboot: Zendaya! According to Deadline, she’s playing a female lead for the Spider-Man reboot, and her character’s name is….Michelle.
Michelle? Hmmm. Could it be the comic book character Michele Gonzales (with only one “l”)? She entered Peter Parker’s life briefly when she arrived to legally represent her imprisoned brother, Officer Vincent Gonzales; he was suspected of being involved with the “Spider-Tracer Killer” conspiracy. Oh, and her bother happened to be Peter’s flatmate. NEAT! So, Peter and Michele had a slightly drunken fling, and went their separate ways. Does this sound like a “female lead” to you?
Of course, source material changes when translated to film. Maybe “Michelle” will play a much bigger role in the movie franchise; perhaps she’ll be an additional love interest pulling Peter away from Gwen or M.J. Although….maybe she’s completely replacing one or both of Peter’s usual love interests. I know Gwen and M.J. are canon, but we’ve seen their relationships play out hundreds of times over various forms of media; there’s nothing wrong with a serious injection of previously untried romance!
Or, perhaps “Michelle” is misdirection. Movies use pseudonyms to disguise themselves in order to work in relative anonymity, so “Michelle” could be just that; a pretend-name in order to keep certain story elements from leaking before production is complete.
So…who is Zendaya? She’s an actress/singer who got her start in the Disney Channel series, Shake it Up. Neat!
So, who do you think Zendaya will actually be portraying? A comic book staple, or a completely new character created for the Spider-Man film. Let us know what you’re thinking below!
