Zendaya's Rumored 'Spider-Man' Role Is Interesting

In a move that has Disney Channel fans shaking it up and dancing with joy, Sony and Marvel have cast Zendaya in the new Spiderman reboot alongside Tom Holland. Sure, at first we were all like, "REALLY? Another reboot of Spiderman? When will they learn that they can never capture the magic of that upside-down kiss shared between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in the rain ever again?" But then I heard Zendaya would be involved, and my tune changed a tad. I don't know about the rest of you, though I am quite sure I'm right to be excited. But who will Zendaya play in the Spider-Man reboot?

Deadline theorizes that the triple threat will be playing a character named Michele. Now, in the Spiderman universe, Michele Gonzalez is Peter Parker's roommate and occasional hookup buddy. She first appears as the sister and defense attourney of Vin Gonzalez, a Spidey roommate and NYPD officer who was eventually sent to prison on a reduced plea bargain. She is the co-signer on Vin's apartment, so she moves in while her little brother is in prison.

Michele and Peter have a pretty tempestuous relationship, which I guess goes with the territory of a bossy older sister who keeps a shotgun in her bedroom and knows Muay Thai as well as Tae Bo. Their romance involves drunken hookups, a few brave rescues via Spiderman, and an occasion where Michele literally draws a line down the apartment and destroys any items on her side that belong to Peter. Eventually, her brother gets out of prison, and she moves back to Chicago where she can rejoin her law practice and find a new significant other who doesn't make her so grouchy.

The only reason I can't see Zendaya performing this role is that she and Tom Holland are both only 19, and it seems like the reboot is going for a younger look for the characters. One does not simply become a lawyer at that young of an age, but, hey, they could always make the actors seem older or take out the law-aspect of her persona.

I have high hopes for Zendaya in this role. So far, she's acted primarily in Disney channel things, and a pretty funny but goofy episode of Black-ish. This could be a great opportunity for her to step out of the cutesy child-actor box in a big way. We saw a sneak peek of how bad*ss she can be in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video as the character Cut-Throat, but that was only about 1/10 of the screen-time she could end up getting in this film. I look forward to seeing Zendaya as a strong character that little girls (and hey, big girls too) can look up to.

Come on Sony/Marvel, I'm counting on you to give me an inspiring lead girl. Don't let me down.

Images: Giphy