“Spider-Man” Producers Had No Idea Who Zendaya Was When She Auditioned: We 'Felt Really Stupid'

Zendaya has played MJ opposite Tom Holland's Peter Parker in the three 'Spider-Man' movies, beginning with 2017's 'Homecoming'

Zendaya was already famous when she first auditioned for the Spider-Man franchise — but not to the movie's producers.

In Vogue's new cover story featuring the multi-hyphenate star, 27, Spider-Man franchise producer Amy Pascal admitted to the outlet that "neither [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] nor I knew who she was" when Zendaya initially auditioned to play MJ in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

“She was wearing no makeup and she was just dressed like a regular girl, and we were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing. She has to be in the movie,' " said Pascal, who has produced the three Spider-Man films starring Zendaya's boyfriend, Tom Holland. "And then we found out she was a totally famous person, and felt really stupid.”

The actress and singer, of course, started acting on the Disney Channel in 2010 on the series Shake It Up. She later appeared on season 16 of Dancing with the Stars and was tapped to star in K.C. Undercover, which ran for three seasons, in 2015. By the time her turn in the Spider-Man films rolled around, she had released a debut album and starred in music videos for artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.

Related: Zendaya Reflects on Being Her Family's 'Breadwinner' at an Early Age: 'I Wish I Went to School'

Zendaya has since costarred in three Spider-Man movies with Holland, also 27. More recently, she lent her star power to HBO's Euphoria and the science fiction epic Dune. She next costars in the tennis drama Challengers as a former youth tennis star turned coach for her husband, Art (Mike Faist), who must face his former best friend and her ex-boyfriend, Patrick (Josh O'Connor), in an upcoming match.

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In the meantime, it remains unclear when Zendaya or Holland may return to their Spider-Man roles. In May 2023, producer Pascal said development on a follow-up to 2021's No Way Home had paused during last year's Writers Guild of America strike, which ended on Sept. 27. In November, Holland himself said making a fourth film in the series would "have to be worth the while of the character," Collider reported.

Related: Everything to Know About 'Challengers' Starring Zendaya

While speaking with Vogue, Zendaya also spoke highly of how Holland handled his adjustment to worldwide fame after he first played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.

“We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight," she told the outlet. "One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man. I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.”

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