Pitch Perfect 2 director Elizabeth Banks has revealed that she was turned down for the role of Spider-Man’s girlfriend Mary-Jane Watson for the 2002 superhero movie for being “too old” – despite being at 28 only 16 months older than the film’s male lead Tobey Maguire.
Speaking to Glamour magazine, Banks said: “I screen-tested for the role of Mary-Jane Watson in the first Spider-Man movie, opposite Tobey Maguire …
Tobey and I are basically the same age and I was told I was too old to play her.
Banks turned to producing with the first Pitch Perfect movie, a surprise hit, before signing up to direct its sequel.