Kirsten Dunst, who starred in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, criticizes Marvel and Sony's latest theatrical reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Arguably the most famous hero in Marvel's star-studded stable of classic characters, Spider-Man has understandably led a very active life when it comes to movie and TV adaptations. The first big theatrical adaptation of Spider-Man was of course Sam Raimi's 2002 hit, which cast Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and Dunst as his usual love interest Mary Jane Watson. One of the early 2000s films that helped to give rise to the current comic book-dominated film industry, Raimi's Spider-Man would spawn an arguably even better sequel in 2004, before ending on a very divisive note with 2007's Spider-Man 3.
Five years later, Hollywood jumped back on the Spider-Man horse, with 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield as the titular hero. That reboot was received decently well overall, and made enough money to earn a sequel of its own, 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Sadly, this sequel proved just as divisive among fans as Raimi's threequel, if not more so. It was clear to Sony at that point that Spider-Man needed a fresh start on the big screen once again, and he got it with last year's widely praised Captain America: Civil War, introducing Tom Holland's web-crawler to the MCU landscape.
That all brings Spidey to this summer's hotly anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming, the MCU solo debut of the Holland incarnation of Peter Parker. While the trailers and promo spots for the film have so far been very well-received, it would appear that one person not excited to check out Spider-Man's latest theatrical adventure is the aforementioned Dunst. In a new interview with Marie Claire, Dunst was asked her opinion on the latest reboot, and her response was unequivocally negative.
"We made the best ones, so who cares? I’m like, 'You make it all you want.' They’re just milking that cow for money. It’s so obvious. You know what I mean?"
While the opinion of one actress - even one so synonymous with Spider-Man's history - is unlikely to sway many from their excitement over Spider-Man: Homecoming, it's still a bit surprising to see her criticize the film so openly. On the other hand, it would appear that her beef is less with this particular movie itself, and more with the very idea of rebooting Spider-Man yet again. That's certainly an opinion many Marvel fans expressed before they saw Holland in action last year.
Interestingly enough, while Hollywood keeps going back to the Peter Parker well - despite other memorable characters having donned the Spider-Man suit in the comics - Spider-Man: Homecoming is set to be the third live-action Spidey film in a row not to feature Mary Jane. For now at least, Dunst remains the sole actress to bring life to Peter's signature significant other in a theatrical film.
Next: In Defense of Spider-Man 3: 10 Years Later
Source: Marie Claire
