Fast-rising star Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s first love and more importantly, his first real connection to the world around him, in Columbia Pictures’ new action-adventure, “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
It’s a very different relationship from the one that audiences might be more familiar with. “I feel like Mary Jane fell in love with Spider-Man. Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker,” Stone explains.
In the film, Stone’s Gwen — a high school valedictorian, all-round brainiac and head intern for Dr. Curt Connors at OsCorp — comes to the fore as the girl who helps Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker keep his feet on the ground even as his tremendous powers let him soar through the sky.
“She’s his confidante,” says Stone, who returned to her natural blonde hair for the role, a far cry from the redhead she’s sported through most of her movie career. “She’s the only one who knows that he’s Spider-Man, which is kinda great. And the nice thing is that Gwen falls in love with Peter first. She loves the boy, in spite of him being Spider-Man, rather than the other way around.”
And, as the romance between the high school sweethearts blossoms, Gwen, whose father, Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary) is the police chief charged with finding Spider-Man and bringing him to justice, finds that her life just may be in danger.
“Getting involved with Peter is the first irresponsible thing she’s ever done. She knows that this boy is dangerous and there’s probably some complex about her father having a dangerous job,” admits Stone. “It’s her first time really standing up to her father and doing something he wouldn’t approve of. She has her whole life planned out and Peter really changes that for her. You’re going to see Gwen experience being out of control for the first time.”
The heart of the film, Stone says, is the relationship between Gwen and Peter. “Director Marc Webb’s biggest goal was working out that relationship,” she says. “We’re operating in a superhero universe, but that relationship has to feel grounded and real. I think the reason that so many fans of the comic books feel so protective of Gwen – or Mary Jane – is that those relationships did feel real and did feel grounded. As actors, it’s nice to have that material to build from – it already feels genuine.”
“The relationship between Peter and Gwen is very significant – the previous movies haven’t explored this until now,” says producer Matt Tolmach. ”Gwen is a very self-assured character; she’s his rival intellectually. And her father happens to be Captain Stacy and let’s be honest, it’s hard enough to meet your girlfriend’s parents for the first time, but when he happens to be the head of the police force that’s chasing you, it makes things that much more complicated. But there’s an emotional honesty and partnership that’s unique to their relationship. Gwen is really the only person who truly knows Peter – and because of that, there’s a closeness that develops between the two of them that neither of them have with anyone else in their lives.”
Opening across the Philippines on Friday, June 29 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular theaters, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit https://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.