The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most famous real-life couple might have never existed if longtime franchise producer Amy Pascal had her way.
In a New York Times interview about Spider-Man: No Way Home and the future of the MCU, the former Sony Pictures Entertainment chairperson said she warned Tom Holland and Zendaya that getting together as more than co-stars may not be the best idea.
“I took Tom and Zendaya aside, separately, when we first cast them and gave them a lecture,” Pascal said. “Don’t go there—just don’t. Try not to.”
The producer—who has been a part of every live-action Spider-Man movie—has surely seen her fair share of Spidey couples get together during filming. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst did so in the original trilogy, while Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone began a relationship during the Amazing Spider-Man days. As Pascal explained, she’s made such warnings before.
“I gave the same advice to Andrew and Emma,” she said. “It can just complicate things, you know? And they all ignored me.”
In July, photos surfaced of Holland and Zendaya kissing in Los Angeles, ultimately confirming what fans had been speculating on for years. Holland eventually opened up to GQ about his privacy with the fellow movie star/former child actor, or lack thereof, and how moments like paparazzi photos can take that away.
“One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn’t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world,” Holland, 25, said.
Zendaya, also 25, spoke to the publication about how the world found out about their relationship, and the importance of privacy ahead of the release of No Way Home. The threequel has now seen the third-largest opening weekend in domestic box office history by earning $253 million so far in the U.S.
“The equal sentiment [we both share] is just that when you really love and care about somebody, some moments or things, you wish were your own,” Zendaya said. “I think loving someone is a sacred thing and a special thing and something that you want to deal with and go through and experience and enjoy amongst the two people that love each other.”
Check out Tom Holland’s appearance on Complex’s Hot Ones below:
