Kirsten Dunst claims that she and her Spider-Man co-star Tobey Maguire were not paid equally for their roles in the 2002 film. In the movie, Dunst, 39, played Mary Jane Watson alongside Maguire, 46, who played Peter Parker and the titular superhero.
PEOPLE reached out to Columbia Pictures and Marvel Enterprises for comment, but neither company responded. “The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme,” she says. “I didn’t even think about it. Was just like, ‘Oh yeah, Tobey is playing Spider-Man.’ ” According to The Independent, the first Spider-Man film grossed $821 million, while its sequel, Spider-Man 2, grossed $789 million in 2004.
I would never say no to something like that … I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies
Even though the films were a box office success, Kirsten Dunst claimed she did not receive the same compensation as Maguire, despite being similarly advertised for the picture. “But do you know who was on the second Spider-Man poster’s cover? Spider-Man and I, “she informs The Independent. After starring in the first two Spider-Man films, Dunst went on to star in the franchise’s third sequel. It marks her final appearance as MJ in 2007. Even though she hasn’t portrayed the character in over a decade, Dunst has stated that she is open to revisiting her role.
“I would do it. Why not? That would be fun,” she tells Variety. “I would never say no to something like that … I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies.” Dunst has been working on several fascinating projects since her role in Spider-Man, including Melancholia, The Beguiled, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida. She responded to a Reuters tweet in 2019 that labeled her as “well known for her role as Spiderman’s girlfriend” when speaking on “The Talk”.
“I don’t really look at Twitter and stuff, I’m not really a social media girl,” she said at the time. “But I was looking for the show and everything. I read it too and I was just like, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty s—y.’ You know what I mean?” She adds, “I was proud that my fans and everyone rallied around and supported me. It was a very ignorant tweet and it was done probably very carelessly by a man.”
