Will Zooey Deschanel Be In Spider-Man? Don't Count On It

Zooey Deschanel leaving home in Almost Famous.
(Image credit: Dreamworks)

When it comes to casting rumors, the most typical around here tends to be reports about an actor or actress working with a director that they have previously worked with. This ranges from Cillian Murphy working with Danny Boyle in 127 Hours to Joseph Gordon-Levitt working with Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises. For every one of these stories that are true, there are about 20 that are false. You can likely stick this new story in the latter category.

Gossip website Showbiz Spy is reporting that Zooey Deschanel is now in the running for a role in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Why is this significant? Because Deschanel worked with director Marc Webb on (500) Days of Summer. See how this works? Though seeming completely fake, the rumor mill at least does a good job keeping up on recent news, as Zooey isn't up for the role of Mary Jane Watson, but rather Betty Brant, J. Jonah Jameson's personal assistant at The Daily Bugle who was played by Elizabeth Banks in Sam Raimi's films. Quoth the unnamed source, "Betty was a minor character in the previous Spidey movies but Marc has big plans for her. He wants a strong performer to carry the role and Zooey fits the bill perfectly. The role is hers if she wants it."

Could this story be true on some realm of existence? Sure, why not. Deschanel is young, pretty, and has the natural hair color to play Brant that Banks didn't. But should you hold your breath? Not unless you want to experience the slow, painful death that comes with asphyxiation.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.