CAST THIS: Mary Jane

Another Spider-Man column? That’s two in a row, Tassi! Yeah, I know, but the SPIDER-MAN reboot continues to be the story of the year (well, twenty days in), and at this point last week, all we knew was that Sony was scrapping the franchise and starting over. But now 500 DAYS OF SUMMER’s Marc Webb has officially signed on to direct, so I wanted to get the film’s other star cast before any more sudden announcements start pouring forth.

Last week we tackled the movie’s titular hero, Peter Parker, the results of which I’ll get to later, but we’re here today to find his other half. The sexy, the sweet, the red-headed MARY JANE WATSON.

Let me be clear about this. I hated, hated, hated Kirsten Dunst as MJ in the first trilogy, and her character became progressively more and more annoying as time went on, and I could only watch her be bummed out by Parker missing her stupid plays so many times before it got old. Outside of the upside-down rain kiss, I would say NO memorable moments from any of the movies involve MJ, outside of awful ones (jazz club anyone?).

So we need a new MJ that isn’t going to make us roll our eyes every time she’s onscreen. And Dunst is cute enough I suppose, but I also think we want an MJ that’s going to make us stop in our tracks and say “Whoa!” as that’s the response she’s supposed to elicit from Parker.

Lastly, keep in mind we’re looking for someone high school aged here as well, so as much of a red-haired cutie as Amy Adams is, I think we need to keep the setting of the film in mind when looking for our MJ. And as for her boyfriend-to-be?

Last Week: SPIDER-MAN

The big news of a reboot begged the obvious question: who the hell was going to take over Tobey Maguire’s shoes as Peter Parker? In a high school-centric SPIDER-MAN, there’s going to be a lot less mask time and a lot more cafeteria awkwardness, so the role is perhaps more important now than it ever was. So who did you pick?

1. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (15%) 2. Anton Yelchin (10%) 3. Logan Lerman (7%)

Now that 500 DAYS’ Marc Webb is attached, JGL seems like even more of a logical choice, but I’m sorry, I just can’t agree with you guys here. Levitt is too old for high school these days (he’s 28), and I also think he should avoid being tied down for three Spidey flicks, as I think he’s got better career options ahead of him than this as evidenced by 500 DAYS and INCEPTION.

Yelchin I could definitely see, and we’ve seen his high school-look in CHARLIE BARLETT, which was surprisingly decent. Logan Lerman is a bit too Zac Efron for me, but maybe that’s what the studio’s looking for these days. I think ultimately they should pull more of an unknown for the role, something the studio has already mentioned.

Alright, let’s hear those Mary Jane picks!