July 2017 saw the release — and immediate embrace of Spider-Man's MCU reboot, which
featured Tom Holland as New York's friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.
In 2018, we got to see another dimension to the franchise literally in the animated masterpiece
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
"Hey — are you OK?"
"No, I'm not."
"What's going on with your body?"
"I don't think my atoms are real jazzed about being in the wrong dimension."
The film introduced multiple Spidey characters, including Brooklyn teen Miles Morales and
Gwen Stacy, the Spider-Woman of her universe who is known to fans as Spider-Gwen.
Quick-witted, confident and able to pull off an impromptu haircut, Stacy's battle skills
and warm heart made her an instant fan favorite.
Into the Spider-Verse wasn't Stacy's first appearance on the big screen, but it was the
first time we saw the character with powers.
She was played by Bryce Dallas Howard in 2007's Spider-Man 3, the last movie in the Tobey
McGuire-starring trilogy; she had a bigger role in the Andrew Garfield franchise, in
which she was played by Emma Stone.
But these versions of Gwen are based on the canonical Spider-Man, in which spoiler alert
she dies tragically.
Spider-Gwen, however, first appeared in the comics in 2014 and got her own series in 2015.
She lives in an alternate universe where she was bitten by the radioactive spider instead
of her best friend Parker, and she later fails to save him giving her a similar guilt-tinged
motivation to her mainstream counterpart.
Powers?
Check.
Sad origin story?
Check.
Sense of humor and heart?
Check.
But will Spider-Gwen ever get her own movie?
"See you around, Spider-Man."
While there are no firm plans to give Spider-Gwen her own live-action solo film at this moment,
it's safe to say that there's never been a better time at the cinema for female superheroes.
After years of being left out or relegated to the background, these characters are finally
seeing their names in lights.
In 2017, DC's Wonder Woman became the highest-grossing superhero origin story ever.
It was surpassed in 2019 by Captain Marvel, the MCU's first film centered on a female
superhero.
We know there will be a Captain Marvel 2 coming along within the next few years, and we're
also getting movies focused on Black Widow and a female Thor played by Natalie Portman
in the MCU's Phase 4.
On the small screen, Disney+ will be offering up the WandaVision series, which focuses on
Scarlet Witch, and two more about Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk.
More immediately, we can get our damsels in no distress fix at the cinema, via DC's anti-heroine
Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey.
The creators of Into the Spider-Verse drew on the ideas of Marvel mastermind Stan Lee,
who always liked Spider-Man because he could be anyone under the mask.
They were able to get audiences pumped about Spideys who weren't necessarily white, male,
or... well, human, and with their newfound emphasis on showcasing female heroes, it feels
like the time is right for Stacy to take center stage.
We aren't the only ones who want to see more Spider-Gwen.
Rumors have abounded that Marvel parent company Disney is very keen on the character, and
that Marvel wants her to have her own solo MCU movie which might also connect to a potential
film based on the Young Avengers.
And, you know what?
We might already have seen her.
Eagle-eyed fans watching Avengers: Endgame at home spotted a student at Peter Parker's
high school with blonde hair, a pink backpack and a skirt with a spiderweb design.
The MCU has already sneaked in a reference to Spider-Verse hero Miles Morales in Spider-Man:
Homecoming, when Aaron Davis played by Donald Glover mentions that he has an unnamed nephew,
who was confirmed to be Miles in a deleted scene.
"Yeah, sorry Miles…
I'm not gonna make it.
Yeah, I'm just stuck."
Whether we get to see a live-action version of Stacy onscreen or not, it's all but certain
that she'll be back in animated form.
Into the Spider-Verse did quite well at the box office, and even beat out Incredibles
2 for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.
This promptly led to the greenlighting of a sequel which will further explore Miles
and Gwen's relationship, and we're also getting an animated spin-off led by Stacy.
That film will feature an all-female team of superheroes, including Jessica Drew — the
main continuity's Spider-Woman — and Cindy Moon, AKA Silk.
All of this bodes well for Stacy's live-action fortunes, and while we don't know exactly
when or how it will happen, we're pretty sure she won't be leaving all of the web-slinging
to the boys for much longer.
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