The MJ model for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 says that despite the harassment, she’d return to the series for future games if asked.
Stephanie Tyler Jones, the face model for Mary Jane in Insomniac’s Spider-Man titles, recently called out so-called fans for harassment. She divulged that this past weekend there was an incident where people “crossed boundaries” by leaving voicemails at her place of employment.
The voicemails made Jones feel “uncomfortable,” prompting her to make a statement saying she’s no longer actively auditioning for acting or modeling roles. She’s since received an outpouring of love and support from people in and around the gaming industry.
Jones shared another update later, addressing questions of whether or not she’d continue working with Insomniac on future Spider-Man projects.
Spider-Man 2’s MJ model said she’d return if Insomniac asks
Following Stephanie Tyler Jones’ initial post, many assumptions were made about the nature of the harassment and her future in the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise. She later cleared up the confusion in an Instagram story (via Haadhai on Reddit).
For one, Jones clarified that none of the messages she received over the weekend were death threats, writing: “…a line was crossed and I wanted to address that I wasn’t okay with that.” In addition, she noted that her decision to move on from acting and modeling isn’t new nor was it caused by Spider-Man.
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“MJ is the only role I was open to being a part of when I decided to change careers,” she said
Lastly, Jones told followers that she’s proud of the Spider-Man games and “will be MJ as long as the game creators will have me.”
What MJ’s future in the series holds is anyone’s guess at this point. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 ended with MJ exploring new avenues, so it stands to reason that Jones will be called on to model her yet again somewhere down the line.
Recent leaks and rumors suggest a third mainline entry is already in the works to some degree. But what specifically Insomniac has planned will remain a mystery for a long while.