Mckenna Grace responds to fans who want her as Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man
After all that Gwen Stacy fancasting, Mckenna Grace has at last addressed joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe — her red-carpet answer is one you’ll want to hear.
Let’s be honest, every time a Spider-Man rumour kicks off, it eventually circles back to Gwen Stacy and who’s going to play her next — and lately, a lot of fans online reckon Mckenna Grace ought to be the one to step up. This week, we actually got a direct answer from Grace herself on whether she fancies swinging into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Gwen. It was exactly the sort of slightly awkward but endearing exchange you get when a star is cornered with those 'Dream casting!' questions on a red carpet.
During a chat with influencer Sami Haidary, Grace admitted, 'Oh my god, I feel like whenever I get fan-cast for things, it’s not going to happen…' But when pushed, she was quick to add, 'No, oh my gosh, of course! That’d be like a dream, so…'
It’s not an ironclad 'Sign me up, Marvel!' but she’s definitely keen — just with the usual actor wariness that fan casting doesn’t always pay off. Worth noting, she already has history here, having played young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel back in 2019, so she’s already got her toe in Marvel’s door (or at least the Marvel daycare centre).
Why Gwen’s Casting Is Never Simple
If you’re wondering why the Gwen Stacy discourse is persistent, it boils down to the fact that Gwen isn’t just a love interest in the Spider-Man world — she’s arguably as emotionally pivotal to Peter Parker’s story as Mary Jane, sometimes even more so depending on the era. Her fate in the comics is infamous. On top of that, the Marvel multiverse explosion means Gwen’s got multiversal versions too. For example, Spider-Gwen (sometimes called Ghost-Spider), who landed spider powers instead of Peter in her world and has become a cult favourite, especially thanks to the Spider-Verse animated films. Hailee Steinfeld’s been voicing her in those massively popular movies, if you’ve somehow missed that bit of movie trivia.
Live-action fans still talk about Emma Stone's stint as Gwen in the Andrew Garfield-era films, which probably set a standard (and, let’s be real, a fan nostalgia bar) pretty high for whatever actress gets the part next. Grace’s name isn’t alone in the discussion — some fans also toss in Emma Myers or Emily Rudd — but absolutely nothing is official.
Mckenna Grace has already played a young Marvel hero, appearing as young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel (2019).
For now, it’s all just fans wish-listing and the odd interviewer getting a slightly flustered but enthusiastic reply on some streaming-friendly red carpet. Marvel themselves haven’t announced the next Gwen or even confirmed when she’d show up. So, as usual with Marvel, we’re all just waiting for Kevin Feige to come down from the mount with his casting tablets. Until then, the internet’s going to keep doing what it does and dream-cast away.