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Kirsten Dunstsays she and herSpider-MancostarTobey Maguirewere not paid equally for the 2002 superhero movie.
Dunst, 39, starred as Mary Jane Watson alongside Maguire, 46, who played Peter Parker and the titular superhero.Spider-Manmarked her first role in a major superhero franchise, but the actress revealed toThe Independentthat she and Maguire had a sharp divide in compensation for their work on the film.
Both Columbia Pictures and Marvel Enterprises did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme,” she said. “I didn’t even think about it. I was just like, ‘Oh yeah, Tobey [Maguire] is playing Spider-Man.’ "
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The firstSpider-Manfilm pulled in $821 million and its sequel, 2004’sSpider-Man 2, brought in $789 million, according toThe Independent. While the movies were a hit at the box office, Dunst said she did not receive the same pay as Maguire, despite being equally promoted for the film.
“But you know who was on the cover of the secondSpider-Manposter? Spider-Man and ME,” she toldThe Independent.
After the first twoSpider-Manfilms, Dunst went on to star in the third installment in the franchise, which marked her last appearance as MJ in 2007. While it’s been over a decade since she played the character, Dunst said she’sopen to reprising her role.
“I would do it. Why not? That would be fun,” she toldVariety. “I would never say no to something like that … I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies.”
Since her turn inSpider-Man, Dunst has been keeping busy with plenty of exciting projects, includingMelancholia,The BeguiledandOn Becoming a God in Central Florida.
AfterReuterssent out a tweet in 2019 that described her as “best known for her role as Spiderman’s girlfriend,” Dunsthit backwhile appearing onThe 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?”
Next up, Dunst is set to star inThe Power of the Dog, a Jane Campion film premiering on Netflix Nov. 17.
source: people.com
