Kirsten Dunst reveals ‘extreme’ pay gap with Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man movies

Kirsten Dunst has talked about the huge pay disparity between her and co-star Tobey Maguire for their hit Spider-Man movies.

Kirsten Dunst has spoken out about the “extreme” salary discrepancies on Spider-Man, claiming co-star Tobey Maguire was paid significantly more money than she was for the 2002 comic book blockbuster.

The 39-year-old US actress made the assertion to The Independent.

“The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme. I didn’t even think about it. But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? Spider-Man and ME.”

Dunst didn’t divulge how much she was paid to play love interest Mary-Jane Watson in the superhero flick, which grossed more than $US1 billion at the box office.

However, it’s been reported that Maguire was paid $US5.4 million for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the debut movie. He then negotiated a salary of $US23.8 million for the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. Unconfirmed reports suggest Dunst was paid $US9.5 million for the sequel.

Dunst was already a rising star when she signed on for the first film, having shot to fame on the 2000 cheerleading film, Bring it On, while Maguire was relatively unknown before shooting to fame as the iconic superhero.

Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire starred in three Spider-Man films.

Both she and Maguire reprised their roles for a third film, Spider-Man 3, which was released in 2007.

It’s not the first time Dunst has brought up the pay disparity on the Spider-Man movies.

Back in 2017, she said her Spidey senses were tingling about Maguire being paid more, but she didn’t probe the issue seriously.

“Because I was young, I thought, ‘Oh wow, I’m getting paid a lot of money for the Spider-Man movies,” she said. “But definitely the men were getting paid more.”

But the pay discrepancy wouldn’t stop Dunst from reviving her role if there was ever a reboot.

“I would do it. Why not? That would be fun,” the actress told Variety last week when asked whether she’d consider playing Mary-Jane in another movie.

The 2002 debut movie made over $1 billion at the box office.

“I would never say no to something like that,” Dunst added, before joking: “I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies.”

Dunst herself is also now a mum, having two young sons with her actor partner Jesse Plemons, 33. The pair’s oldest son, Ennis Howard, was born in 2018, while their second boy James Robert, arrived in May this year.

Meanwhile, Dunst’s newest film, The Power of the Dog, directed by Jane Campion, has been widely tipped to earn the actress her first Oscar nomination. The drama will be released on Netflix next month.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced here with permission