‘I’ve not met Tom, but I’d love to’: Hailee Steinfeld makes her case for why Gwen Stacy needs to join the live-action Spider-Verse

Even if podcasts aren’t your cup of tea, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ve heard of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, hosted by Josh Horowitz. Getting “nerdy and intimate” with the biggest movie stars, according to the podcast’s official description, Horowitz has rubbed elbows with some famous names in his time – the latest of which was Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Kate Bishop in the MCU.

As we know, Steinfeld recently starred in the Disney Plus series Hawkeye alongside Jeremy Renner. What some Marvel fans might not know, however, is that Steinfeld also voices a rather famous Spider-Person in Sony’s own Spider-Verse — none other than Gwen Stacy. You’ll have heard her voice in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and, more recently, Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel showing in some theaters from today and releasing worldwide tomorrow, June 2. She stars alongside Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales, Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man who finds himself warped into the Spider-Verse, crossing paths with all the Spider-People from different dimensions.

Horowitz sat down with Steinfeld to discuss her role in Across the Spider-Verse, as well as touching on the possibility of bringing a live-action Gwen Stacy to the MCU, ideally to partner with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. What with Jeremy Renner out of action following a snow plough incident, the MCU might be looking to recast its Hawkeye, so the likelihood of another season is slim, albeit way down the pipeline. That’s not all bad news, though, as it leaves the door wide open for Steinfeld to explore her part-time career as Spider-Man’s best friend.

In the above interview, Horowitz asked Steinfeld if she would feel “robbed” if her character (Gwen Stacy) didn’t interact with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Zendaya’s MJ. After a dramatic pause, Steinfeld answered with a simple “yeah,” which had Horowitz splitting his sides. “Thank you for your honesty,” Josh replies.

Afterward, Horowitz quizzed the actress on how many Spider-Men she’d encountered in her career, referring to the actors that have played them, which would be Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland primarily, but also includes any animated Spider-Men or spin-off actors. Steinfeld mentioned that she knew Maguire, Garfield, and Moore (obviously), but has yet to meet Tom Holland.

“I have not met Tom,” she started. “But I’d like to. Maybe that hasn’t happened for a reason.” And that’s when she started to get tight-lipped about the whole thing. “I’m just saying,” she said.

So, there you have it. Maybe there’s a future in store for Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy, but with her already playing Kate Bishop, wouldn’t that be a bit confusing? Ah, stranger things have happened. Let’s see where it leads.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters worldwide tomorrow.