Zendaya Becomes First Woman of Color to Play Mary Jane In Spider-Man History

The 19-year-old Disney star will be taking on the role of Mary Jane in the latest addition to the Spider-Man films, The Wrap reports.

When Zendaya was cast last March in a key role in the film franchise, fans began to wonder if Mary Jane would be played by a woman of color.

Everything remained hush hush, and when Zendaya made an appearance at San Diego's Comic Con, she told MTV that her character is "super dry and awkward." But last night, a firestorm of tweets shook fans: Zendaya will indeed be the next Mary Jane. Soon edited pictures of the Shake It Up star appeared with the actress rocking a traditional M.J. hair color.

During the course of the movie, Peter Parker will be trying to win the heart of another classmate named Liz Allan, also played by a woman of color (Laura Harrier). Still, we're stoked to see how Zendaya takes on the iconic character played by Kirsten Dunst back in 2002.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is set to premiere July 7, 2017.