At the Fan Expo Canada convention held in Toronto this weekend, actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard was one of the many guests and hosted a panel talking about her vast career from starring in films to directing several episodes of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, many of those episodes being named as among the best in the series by fans and other outlets.
One of the roles she is most known for is her supporting role in Spider-Man 3, the final film of Sam Raimi’s trilogy featuring Tobey Maguire as Marvel’s resident webslinger, where she played Gwen Stacy, an iconic character from the Spider-Man comics whose fate sent shockwaves through the comic industry.
With Raimi’s trilogy having something of a resurgence in popularity after Maguire reprised his version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Andrew Garfield from The Amazing Spider-Man films and the MCU’s Tom Holland, a fan asked Howard how she looks back on her experience as Gwen in Spider-Man 3.
“When I got to play Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man it was only the hardcore fans who knew,” Howard said. “They’d be like ‘what character are you?’ and I’d be like Gwen Stacy and most people would be like ‘who?’ The real fans totally knew who Gwen Stacy was. I coveted it. I saw my way into Spider-Man through the Sam Raimi movies, especially after the second one. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I need to be involved in something like this!’ I was very excited to play Gwen Stacy.”
She later added that Spider-Man 3 wasn’t just another film during her breakout era, but also a personal one as she discovered during filming. “It was just wonderful, it was a wonderful experience. I didn’t know it at the time but I was pregnant with my son who is 17 now. He’s blonde and he loves rock climbing. I blame Spider-Man!”
Howard also spoke of her friendship with her co-star Kirsten Dunst who played Spider-Man’s romantic interest Mary Jane Watson throughout the Raimi trilogy, particularly the irony of their physical appearances. “It was super weird. Kirsten Dunst is awesome and we’re friends and she’s a natural blonde and I’m obviously a redhead. She was spending hours in a salon becoming red, I was spending hours in a salon becoming blonde, and we’d look at each other and say we were cast in the wrong parts.”
Gwen Stacy herself is a very popular character as Spider-Man’s first girlfriend in the comics, but is also at the center of one of the most defining and devastating moments in Spidey’s mythology. One day after discovering Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker the Green Goblin abducted Gwen and took her to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge and threw her off. Spidey caught her with his webs, but the sudden jolt caused her to have a massive whiplash, breaking her neck and instantly killing her. It is an infamous moment that changed the face of comics and was adapted in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Emma Stone as Gwen.
However, Gwen has reached newfound popularity as the Spider-Verse comic event introduced Spider-Gwen, a version of Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe where she was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker and became Spider-Woman. Spider-Gwen’s popularity rose so quickly she was given her own ongoing comic for a few years and played a major role in Sony’s animated features Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Across The Spider-Verse, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld.
“You’re speaking to the resurgence and especially with Spider-Gwen and everything, it is so cool,” Howard said of Gwen’s new role in the Spider-Verse comics and films. “It’s really, really, really, really cool. I feel very excited to technically be the first Gwen, but very humbled to be a part of the Gweniverse as we’ve seen so many extraordinary actors have been involved.”
What do you think of Howard’s role in Spider-Man 3? Have you enjoyed seeing Gwen’s soar in popularity for something other than her death? Let us know on our social channels at @FlickeringMyth…
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
Originally published August 26, 2024. Updated August 27, 2024.
