Spider-Man's Marisa Tomei originally wanted Aunt May to have a girlfriend

21 December 2021, 18:13

Tom Holland & Zendaya Hint 'No Way Home' May Be MJ's Last Spider-Man Movie

By Katie Louise Smith

Bisexual Aunt May? HERE FOR IT!

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What's that? Marvel's Spider-Man trilogy could have had a bisexual Aunt May? Yep, if Marisa Tomei had got her way, that is.

The conversation around the lack of LGBTQ+ characters within the Spider-Man franchise (and the MCU at large) has popped up several times before and cast members have even addressed it. Andrew Garfield has previously spoken about how he was pressured into retracting his statement asking why Peter Parker couldn't be gay, and Tom Holland has also backed the idea of a gay Spider-Man.

Now, Marisa, who plays the iconic and flawlessly fashionable Aunt May in the MCU trilogy, has revealed that she initially asked for May's romantic interest in the films to be a woman.

Marisa Tomei wanted Aunt May to have a girlfriend in the Spider-Man films. Picture: Sony/Marvel Studios

WARNING: Potential minor Spider-Man No Way Home spoilers ahead!

WARNING: Spider-Man: No Way Home spoilers ahead! Picture: Sony/Marvel Studios

Speaking to Geeks of Color ahead of No Way Home's release, Marisa spoke about Aunt May's romantic storyline and her on-off relationship with Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan: "I really feel that their relationship is more off than on. I think they're friends, they get along, there's a true camaraderie, and they're both invested in Peter so much."

She added: "But I think it was just like, they're stuck together. It's like being on a desert island. There's no one else they can talk to right now, they like each other enough, they had their fun, their fling, but they're still cool with each other."

Marisa then touched on the fact that initially, before Happy was even introduced as a romantic interest for May, she wanted her to have a girlfriend instead.

"At one point, this was before the idea of Happy showed up, there was a moment where I felt that maybe she should just be with a woman because like, Ben is gone and who should she be with?," she told the interviewer. "And we were kind of talking about it. I actually really wanted [producer] Amy Pascal from Sony to be my girlfriend.

"I was like, 'No one even has to know, Amy', and I'll just be in a scene and you'll be over there and I'll just be like, 'Hey!' It'll just be like a subtle thing."

Before the idea of Happy and Aunt May came to be, Marisa Tomei said she wanted Aunt May to have a girlfriend. #SpiderManNoWayHome

Full interview: https://t.co/4WWDIp0zqG pic.twitter.com/BJSVcbMTxR
— Geeks of Color #BlackLivesMatter (@GeeksOfColor) December 19, 2021

The revelation has sent fans on Twitter wild, with some users pointing out that we were all "robbed" of seeing a bisexual Aunt May in the MCU.

Others have also noted that a "Queer Aunt May would’ve been a serve," with one user adding, "the fact we didn't get it oh I'm mad [sic]," and another saying, "We could've gotten a bi aunt? Marisa thanks for trying we love you."

The fans are right: A queer Aunt May would have been a serve. Get that multiverse door open now, and bring us the bisexual Aunt May the world deserves, ya cowards!

She does give off the biggest bisexual aunt energy regardless but it would’ve been nice to see her with a girlfriend
— glup shitto 💎 (@KeanaBanana98) December 20, 2021