Kirsten Dunst: iconic Spider-Man kiss was “miserable” to shoot

Last Updated on April 3, 2024

When we think of the greatest kisses in movie history, there are some genuine classics that come to mind: Lady and the Tramp smooching via spaghetti, Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr embracing on the beach in From Here to Eternity, Michael Corleone sealing brother Fredo’s fate in The Godfather Part II…And up there with all of these is the upside down kiss from 2002’s Spider-Man, in which Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane peels up her hero’s mask and plants one in a New York downpour. And as immediately iconic as it was, the scene was something of a pain to shoot.

As Dunst recalled of the famous Spider-Man scene, “I remember Sam Raimi giving me a book of famous kisses to be inspired but also he really wanted to make it special even though it was kind of miserable actually doing it…It was pouring with rain, freezing, Tobey couldn’t breathe so it was almost like I was resuscitating him.” Well there goes that magic!

Even as the series continues to weave its web, the kiss from Spider-Man still remains one of the standout moments, adding to both Peter Parker’s mystique and the budding romance between Mary Jane and her friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

After playing the pivotal role of Mary Jane Watson throughout Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Kirsten Dunst said she would be game for joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some capacity, suggesting she feels left out. Considering how Tobey Maguire reprised Peter Parker/Spider-Man for 2021’s No Way Home via the multiverse, it’s totally possible for Dunst to step back into the character. And wouldn’t it be fun to have her and Spidey’s other love interests recreate the famous pointing meme?

Spider-Man was the highest-grossing movie domestically of 2002, playing a pivotal role in the resurgence in interest of superhero movies, leading the way for the MCU, which had its first Spider-Man installment with 2017’s Homecoming, with Tom Holland taking over the role. To date, all of the Spider-Man movies – live-action and animated – have grossed nearly $9 billion worldwide. And to think it all started with a kiss…

What is your favorite scene from 2002’s Spider-Man? Where does that movie rank amongst the rest?