Marisa Tomei as Aunt May holding a piece of paper
(Marvel Entertainment)

Turns out Marisa Tomei is a real-life Aunt May

If you’re a fan of the Spider-Man comics, you might recall how Aunt May was a total Peter/MJ shipper. It was her who tried to set them up in the first place, and once they got together she was nothing but supportive. And hey, it turns out May actress Marisa Tomei has similar feelings!

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She’s full of love and respect for Tom Holland and Zendaya, who got together while filming the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movies.

During a panel at Fan Expo 2024 this week, Tomei was asked what her favorite part of working on the franchise was, and she answered, “I think some of the favorite things were really just watching Tom and Zendaya grow up and watching them fall in love… and seeing their phenomenal talent.” Awww!

She went on:

Some people are just meant for it, and they are meant for it. They carry enormous, enormous star power, enormous power and they manage to be real people at the same time and and just, they’re multitalented. They can do everything! They sing, they dance, they act, they do stunts, they design fashion. I mean, what are they not doing? They’re incredible, incredible people.

Spidey fans everywhere would agree … so it’s a bit of a shame that Tomei, Holland, and Zendaya won’t share the screen in another Spider-Man movie. Tomei’s Aunt May was killed by the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, leaving poor Peter Parker without a parental figure. And as for Zendaya, her participation in the next Spider-Man (which may be another multiverse movie, much to the consternation of fans) is a bit up in the air. In No Way Home, she lost her memories of Peter and didn’t recognize him at the end of the film. It was all very sad … but maybe it can be undone?

Rumor has it that the Marvel bosses want Zendaya to return for Spider-Man 4 regardless of her character’s status … and let’s face it (Tiger), they’d be mad not to capitalize on Zendaya’s mega-fame and her adorable real-life relationship with Holland. And hey, maybe they can even bring Tomei back for a flashback scene as well? But alas, we’ll have to wait until at least 2026 to find out what happens.


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Sarah Barrett
Sarah Barrett (she/her) is a freelance writer with The Mary Sue who has been working in journalism since 2014. She loves to write about movies, even the bad ones. (Especially the bad ones.) The Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the Star Wars prequels changed her life in many interesting ways. She lives in one of the very, very few good parts of England.