'Spider-Man' star Zendaya reveals she became 'obsessed' with franchise after seeing one of the films on her first date

“My first date was to 'Spider-Man' and I was obsessed with it immediately."

ByABC News
June 20, 2017, 10:48 AM

— -- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” star Zendaya revealed she became “obsessed” with the franchise after seeing it on her very first date at the age of 16.

“My first date was to 'Spider-Man' and I was obsessed with it immediately,” the 20-year-old actress, who plays Michelle in the upcoming film, said on “Good Morning America.” “I’ve always kind of related to Spider-Man. I think a lot of people do because he’s a real person. He’s not just the superhero all the time. He is, at the end of the day, Peter Parker, who is a 15-year-old kid, which we all can relate to.

“We’ve all been that awkward teenager and had that time in our life. Everybody has. So I think he was the realest superhero. He was tangible to people. It just happened that was my first date and, then, here we are now. It’s crazy.”

Zendaya is also debunking the rumors that her character is actually the famous Mary Jane Watson, the fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics as Peter Parker’s iconic love interest.

“I keep trying to tell everybody my name is Michelle in the movie,” she said of the Marvel Studios film. “That is what my name is. I am not lying to you. I swear. She is a very interesting character, very different than anything we’ve ever seen before. She’s very intellectual, very smart, which I think leads her to not really be able to socially interact with anybody her own age. So she’s a bit of a loner. But I think she likes it that way. I like her outspokenness and her wittiness and quickness. But I’m definitely Michelle, I’m not lying.”

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” hits theaters July 7.

The Disney Co. is the parent of Marvel Studios and ABC News.

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