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Marvel Studios and Sony were unsure how to handle Aunt May’s hair, according to Marisa Tomei
Do you like May Parker’s hair in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Then you can thank Marisa Tomei
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People like to talk about how Spider-Man has been rebooted multiple times, but it’s important to remember that this also means rebooting his supporting cast. Spider-Man’s costume and Peter Parker’s persona isn’t the only aspect to consider. For example, what should Aunt May be like, and how long should her hair be.
Yes, this was a real debate within the offices of Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures. When the two production companies began working together to craft the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Spider-Man, it meant finding the right look for his Aunt May as well.
Speaking to a crowd at Fan Expo Philly, May Parker actress Marisa Tomei recalled the process. “It was kind of chaotic. I think it was just starting to form who they are as characters, what is this reboot or reinvention to my character, and Tom [Holland] was being mentored by Robert [Downy Jr.]. It was really fun. Me and Tom were kind of nervous, we didn’t know what was going on yet. It was all kind of being formed during that time. They just wanted to plant us into that Civil War, and then we would kind of take it from there. It was kind of hard to put it all together really quickly.”
Tomei then spoke about her discussions with Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts, and how they worked to shape her character. “Jon Watts is a fantastic director and very thoughtful. We talked a lot. We talked at length about spiders and the web of life, and the way things are interconnected.”
“We talked about that she’s really the main influence for him, and everything that he grows into and is, which is a local hero, a community hero, that he gets all his values from her. So, we should kind of work backwards from there. We made her a community organizer. There was a lot of talk about how long her hair should be, I remember that. I won that battle, by the way. No one got it, but now they do.”
Honestly, I think the takeaway here is that Marisa Tomei won a battle against Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures. If that doesn’t sound like May Parker, I don’t know what does.
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