I’m prepared to catch a bunch of heat for this but I personally don’t want MJ/Zendaya to return in the MCU for future Spider-Man films even though I know it’s inevitable. I don’t think it’s the most logical move story wise… just hear me out.
For one, I wasn’t the biggest MCU Peter/MJ fan. I thought their entire relationship had no build up. It was hinted at a tiny bit in Homecoming with the implication that MJ had a crush on Peter with Peter showing no interest in her at all. Jump to Far From Home where he’s all of a sudden madly in love with her. I know that’s how high school crushes work but I felt this was the writers forcing us to root for them and accept their relationship automatically because it’s Peter and MJ. They didn’t think we needed to see any build up or progression. It was lazy writing plain and simple. What would have worked better would be Peter wanting to spend his vacation with Ned as “eligible bachelors” and have instances that force Peter to interact with MJ even though he doesn’t want to. Then by the end of the film he realizes he actually likes her. But that’s another discussion. I’m going on a tangent.
Their entire relationship is a high school fling, there’s no denying that. They started dating at the end of Far From Home which takes place in the summer, so June or July, and No Way Home takes place in November that same year. They dated for 5 months max. I’m not trying to discredit high school relationships but nothing I saw from MCU Peter/MJ screams “true love”.
No Way Home’s ending is both beautiful and poetic because it’s Peter finally accepting Spider-Man and sacrificing his happiness for the well being of others. It finally feels like the Spider-Man I know and love from the comics.
Here’s my issue with her inevitable return. For one, I personally feel like it would cheapen No Way Home’s ending. Y’all are gonna dispute that by saying “if it’s done right it won’t” or “the ending implied she’s going to figure it out anyways.” No matter how soon or how it happens it’s undoing Peter’s big boy sacrifice at the end of the movie. In comics, Spider-Man always experiences loss and sacrifice, it’s what comes with the job. Peter is finally experiencing consequences for his actions and it should stick. I know he probably won’t be the one to initiate the reconnection but logically it just doesn’t make sense. MJ is living her life in Boston. She’s safe, she’s happy, she’s living her life. The contradiction to that point would be her not ever being happy without Peter in her life or that she feels something is missing. I’ll talk about this a little later.
A large reason why MJ’s return is inevitable is because she’s played by Zendaya. She has a large following which means more money for Sony and Marvel. She’s also dating Tom Holland and they have the most famous relationship in Hollywood right now. But what does that have to do with their characters? Peter Parker isn’t Tom Holland and MJ isn’t Zendaya. Separate artist from art. I find that really irritating and annoying as a Spider-Man fan. I did say at the beginning of this post I don’t think it’s a smart move STORY wise not money wise. Money wise they’ll bring in a heck of a lot of money, but story wise it cheapens a lot. I feel that’s a lot of the reason why “fans” want them back.
Y’all’s next argument is going to be that she’s “MJ Watson” and she and Peter always end up together. Since when has the MCU ever cared about comic accuracy before? In the comics Pepper Potts is married to Happy Hogan not Tony Stark. A bunch of the MCU couples either aren’t together in comics and are in the MCU and vice versa. It’s okay to explore a different love interest for Peter in the new trilogy and have them be the ultimate endgame. We’ve seen Peter/MJ before in the Raimiverse, it’s okay to see something new this time round.
Even though I’m not a fan of their relationship, their goodbye in No Way Home was so beautiful. Peter is showing her the ultimate sign of true love by prioritizing her safety and wellbeing over their happiness. It’s a poetic ending to their story.
She served her purpose. It’s time for a new chapter in Peter’s life. Y’all’s next argument is gonna be “you’re contradicting yourself by saying he should find a new love interest but shouldn’t reconnect with MJ because it’ll put her in danger, wouldn’t he be endangering someone else?” I didn’t say Peter should automatically welcome someone else with open arms. Peter’s entire arc in the new trilogy should be him pushing people away and slowly learning to let them back in. I think Kate Bishop or Ava Ayala would be a good choice to help explore this arc. Someone else who can take care of herself because she also is a part of that life.
We saw how bittersweet the “letting go” trope is in the MCU. Strange and Christine. Quill and Gamora. There’s something very beautiful about setting aside your own self interest for the sake of the others.
Each MCU hero has a heartbreaking story when it comes to their love life but it doesn’t make it any less satisfying.
Here’s where it doesn’t make sense to me logically. Logically, you’re telling me she is able to overcome a spell not even the Sorcerer Supreme himself can because it’s “true love?” C’mon… it was a 4 month long relationship… That would be so cringe. On the other hand, I don’t see an instance where Peter changes his mind and reconnects with her. There’s no logical reason why they would ever have to interact again. Peter stays away plain and simple. He can watch her from afar and yearn and reminisce but never act upon it. MJ, logically, should go on and live her life in Boston and that’s that.
My ideal scenario would be Zendaya returning for a small cameo in Spider-Man 4.
Have a scene where Peter’s watching her from on top of a building either closing up the coffee shop on her last shift before moving to Boston or saying goodbye to her parents as she’s leaving for college. Maybe even a scene where her and Ned are shown hanging out with new friends. It would serve as a reminder of what Peter sacrificed and why he did it. It would hit so hard. Then that’s it for her character.
Look, I know her return is inevitable. It’s gonna happen whether I like it or not. Amy Pascal has already expressed interest in wanting her back in Spider-Man 4 (my guess is for $). I just hope they do it in a way that doesn’t completely undermine No Way Home and Peter’s arc. There’s nothing wrong with letting someone go, there’s nothing wrong with moving on and meeting new people. There’s dozens of other characters they can explore from the comics that haven’t had their time on the big screen but of course they’re going to ignore them for the sake of “fan” service. I’m a Spider-Man fan, not a Tomdaya fan. Smh.
