Kirsten Dunst, who reprises the role of Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming sequel film Spider-Man 2, told SCI FI Wire that her character will take more charge of her life. "Now she has her own place in New York, and she's getting married," Dunst said in an interview. "She's working and doing her own thing. I scream a lot less in this one."
Dunst felt Mary Jane's progression in the sequel is natural, considering her conflicted background. "Look at her family and what she came from, this abusive male in the house and this mother who's an alcoholic," she said. "I don't think Mary Jane was the most secure woman to begin with, so she was a little bit more like, I guess you could say, a damsel in distress [in the first film]."
Dunst also confirmed that Mary Jane's fiance is John Jameson, son of Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson (again played by J.K. Simmons). John is played by actor Daniel Gillies. "[It's] just a different guy to kiss," Dunst said. Columbia Pictures will release Spider-Man 2 on Jul. 2, 2004.