23 years after the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Kate Hudson addresses turning down the role of Mary Jane Watson. The character was played by Kirsten Dunst in the 2002 film, along with the sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
On Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen, Hudson was asked whether she really turned down getting to play Mary Jane and if she regrets it. While part of her wishes that she would have accepted the role and starred in Spider-Man, she believes that the right people were ultimately in the movie.
She is also grateful to have filmedThe Four Feathers (2002) at the time, where she worked and became friends with Heath Ledger. Check out Hudson’s response below:
It’s so funny. When people say these things, it doesn’t feel good to talk about it because the people who are in the movie are the right people. Your circumstances in life happen the way they happen. But yes, I did, and now that I look back, it’s one of those things where I’m like, “That would have been nice to be in the Spider-Man movie.” But at the same time, I did a movie called Four Feathers. I got to meet Heath Ledger, who became a very good friend and I got an experience that I would never have had, so part of me is like life happens exactly the way it’s supposed to, and I’m grateful for it. But I do look at that…it would have been fun to be her.
Cohen points out that had Hudson accepted the role, she could have been in multiple Spider-Man movies. She also could have played an iconic character in the years before the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as superhero movies became increasingly popular.
The movie that Hudson chose to do instead, The Four Feathers, was not a critical or commercial hit. It grossed $29.8 million worldwide against a reported budget of $35 million and has a 41% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. From How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) to Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), though, many of Kate Hudson’s other movies since then have been very successful.
In the years after Spider-Man 3, other versions of Mary Jane have been cast for the big screen. Shailene Woodley was cast to play her in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), but her scenes were cut. Zendaya plays Michelle “MJ” Jones in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies, ZoëKravitz voices Mary Jane Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018, and Melissa Sturm takes over the part in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) cast includes Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, who has been rumored to be playing the MCU’s version of Mary Jane Watson. While the Tom Holland-led movie has wrapped production, Sink’s role remains tightly under wraps.
As for Hudson’s upcoming projects, her new movie Song Sung Blue with Hugh Jackman releases in theaters on December 25 and season 2 of her Netflix sports comedy series Running Point is expected to be released in 2026.
In 2022, Kate Hudson revealed she would join the MCU if asked, but she is not attached to any of the franchise’s movies or shows. Even without playing Mary Jane in Spider-Man, Hudson has gone on to have a strong career.
- Release Date
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May 3, 2002
- Runtime
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121 Minutes
- Writers
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David Koepp
