Gotta tell you the truth, I have no idea about Spider-Man comics, which makes this news no more than a casting announcement in my case. Nevertheless, Variety is reporting that Bryce Dallas Howard has joined the cast of Spider-Man 3 and will play the role of Gwen Stacy, a lady who takes the place of Mary Jane for Peter Parker’s affection.
The bigger news in my book is that filming gets under way this week, which means we will probably see a cool little teaser trailer come summertime and some stills and goodies can start worming their way to our preview pages. I may not know anything about the comics, or any comic for that matter, but the movies are always fun and the marketing is always lively.
Dallas Howard has a few films set to hit theaters this year including Manderlay and M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water due out July 21. Spider-Man 3 hits theaters May 4, 2007.
As for this Gwen Stacy casting, looking at it as an untrained comic-book reader, I smell a fourth film. Kirsten Dunst has made mention more than once that she believed the series was over for her at three films. The addition of a rising young actress in a role that could possible take the place of Dunst’s Mary Jane character only leads me to believe that a fourth film could be a possibility.
That said, I did do a little bit of searching, give me some credit please, and it appears the movies are deviating slightly from the comics as Gwen Stacy was the first great love of Peter Parker”s life, before Mary Jane. You remember all that stuff in the first Spider-Man where the Green Goblin and Spidey battle while Mary Jane’s life hangs in the balance, actually all that was supposed to be Gwen, not Mary Jane.
So, are the movies simply doing a bit of role reversal here? If so, great! Fans of the comics haven’t seemed to be up-in-arms over the way the Spidey stories have played out thus far. Hopefully they won’t be too pissed off if the story deviates a bit more.
Thanks to the MarvelDirectory for the trivia bits on Gwen Stacy, click here for the rest of her bio.
