When it was first announced that 19-year-old actress/singer Zendaya had joined the cast of Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, we were told that she’d be playing someone named “Michelle.” Now, while many fans assumed this was some sort of cover to disguise the identity of her real character, it still came as a big surprise that she’d actually be starring as perennial Peter Parker love-interest, Mary ‘MJ’ Watson.
Not as surprising was a portion of the internet’s reaction to this news. Whenever a character is race or gender-bent, you can bet the usual suspects will crawl out of the woodwork to voice their displeasure. But, one man who seems to be firmly behind this casting decision is legendary Marvel writer/creator, Stan Lee.
Here’s what the “Generalissimo” has to say during an interview with The Toronto Sun:
“If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think it’ll be absolutely wonderful … The colour of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter. All that matters is that this the right person for the role.”
Lee goes on to rightfully point out that this is far from the first time a major Marvel comic character’s race has been changed for a movie adaptation, providing Daredevil‘s Kingpin (the late Michael Clarke Duncan) as an example.
Spider-Man: Homecoming also stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr. and the recently announced Michael Chernus. The movie is set to swing into theaters on July 7, 2017.