Movie TalkAndrew Garfield Suggests Michael B. Jordan as Spider-Man’s … Boyfriend?
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man might be even friendlier than you realize.
By now it's pretty well-known that "The Amazing Spider-Man" star Andrew Garfield is something of an expert on his superhero alter ego. Garfield has been a Spider-fan since he was a kid ... and perhaps now even more of one as an adult, as he surprised San Diego Comic-Con attendees in 2011 by showing up to ask a "fan question" of the "Spider-Man" panel wearing a makeshift Spidey costume that was about one step up from Underoos.
[Related: 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' Spoiler Alert: Is Emma Stone's Costume a Dead Giveaway?]
With great knowledge of such a rich and convoluted mythology comes a desire to explore and perhaps reinterpret that mythology, even in the intricacies of Peter Parker's private life. Actually, "reinterpretation" is perhaps too simple a term when it comes to Garfield's recent "What If?" proposal: a complete and total sexual makeover for ol' webhead — and a complete and total gender swap for who's arguably his most popular and enduring love interest, Mary Jane Watson.
"I was kind of joking, but kind of not joking about MJ," Garfield told Entertainment Weekly. "And I was like, 'What if MJ is a dude?' Why can't we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality? It's hardly even groundbreaking! So why can't he be gay? Why can't he be into boys?"
This radical rethinking of Peter's redheaded ladyfriend no doubt came upon the aftermath of the character being cut from "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Mary Jane was to be played by "The Descendents" star Shailene Woodley, who appeared in scenes that have unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor (or the Recycle Bin, in today's brave new world of digital filmmaking).
Garfield even has an actor in mind to play "MJ as a dude": Michael B. Jordan, who has his own big-screen superhero cred thanks to his starring role in "Chronicle" (2012).
"I've been obsessed with Michael B. Jordan since 'The Wire,'" admits the actor. "He's so charismatic and talented. It'd be even better — we'd have interracial bisexuality!”
[Related: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2′: Set Pics Reveal Paul Giamatti as a Rampaging Rhino]
Garfield has pitched the idea to "The Amazing Spider-Man" director Marc Webb, who is apparently, uh, taking it under advisement.
"Michael B. Jordan, I know," said Webb when EW asked him about Garfield's proposal. Ah, so he's already heard about this? "Uh, are you kidding?"
Who said the new "Spider-Man" movie series had nothing new to offer?
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" swings into theaters on May 2, 2014. "The Amazing Spider-Man 3," which is scheduled to open on June 10, 2016, sounds like it could end up being a very, very interesting film.
Watch 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Teaser Trailer:
