Kirsten Dunst reveals the 'extreme' pay disparities in Spider-Man films

Kirsten Dunst has claimed her co-star, Tobey Maguire was paid "significantly" more money than her for the Spider-Man films. Photo / Getty Images

In a recent interview with The Independent, Kirsten Dunst has claimed there were "extreme" pay discrepancies in the Spider-Man films.

The 39-year-old actress claimed her co-star Tobey Maguire was paid significantly more money than she was for the 2002 comic book blockbuster despite the fact she was a rising star at the time while he was relatively unknown.

"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."

While Dunst didn't go into specifics about how much she was paid for her role as Mary-Jane Watson in the superhero film, it has been reported that Maguire was paid a handsome US$5.4 million for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the debut movie.

He reportedly went on to negotiate himself US$23.8m for the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2 while unconfirmed reports state Dunst was paid US$9.5m for the sequel.

Despite the alleged pay gap, both Dunst and Maguire signed on to a third film in the series which was released in 2007.

Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire during Spider-Man 3 Paris Premiere. Photo / Getty Images

This is not the first time Dunst has raised pay disparities, in 2017 she said "Because I was young, I thought, 'Oh wow, I'm getting paid a lot of money for the Spider-Man movies,"

"But definitely the men were getting paid more."

However, the past difference in pay wouldn't be a roadblock if she was asked to reprise her role as Watson. The actress told Variety "I would do it. Why not? That would be fun," continuing to insinuate things would have to be a little different, "I'd be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies."

Since her time on the big screen as Watson, the actress has gone on to have two children with her partner Jesse Plemons and is expecting the release of her newest film The Power of the Dog, directed by Jane Campion to be released on Netflix next month.

And Spidey senses are tingling as her role in the film has been tipped to earn Dunst her first Oscar nomination.