Zendaya joins Tom Holland and Marisa Tomei, who are set to star as Peter Parker and Aunt May, respectively. Just what part the former Disney Channel star will play is still unclear, though. Sources tell Deadline that she’ll fill a “key role” as a character named Michelle, while other insiders tell THR that Zendaya’s part isn’t a lead. Whatever the case, it sounds like we can rule her out as playing either of Spider-Man’s love interests from the comics, Mary Jane and Gwen.
Along with signing up for the next installment in the Spider-Man film franchise, Zendaya has starred in two Disney Channel original series: Shake It Up, which ran from November 2010 to November 2013, and K.C. Undercover, which began airing in January 2015. She has also competed on Dancing with the Stars, finishing as season 16’s runner-up. Beyond her TV roles, the entertainer has a studio album under her belt and recently released the first single off an upcoming album. The song, Something New, features Chris Brown.
The Spider-Man reboot will be Zendaya’s biggest film to date. A joint production of Sony and Marvel Studios, the movie will center on the comic books’ popular web-slinging hero. Although it will be the first standalone Spider-Man flick starring Holland, the actor will make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut this summer as part of the star-studded cast of Captain America: Civil War when the superhero flick opens on August 24.
The Spider-Man reboot will be helmed by Cop Car director Jon Watts, and is based on a screenplay written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The movie is set to hit theaters on July 7, 2017.
