Zendaya: 'My first date was a cinema trip to see Spider-Man'

Zendaya has a romantic attachment to Spider-Man - her first proper date was a cinema trip to see Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging superhero.

The rising star has landed a key part in the latest Spider-Man franchise installment, but at the moment, it is unknown whether she will be playing Spider-Man's classic love interest, Mary Jane, or one of his classmates named Michelle.

And when quizzed on who her character will be in the film, which stars Brit Tom Holland in the titular role, the 20-year-old declined to reveal many details about her mysterious persona, stating, "You'll find out. It's funny to watch the guessing game".

Being part of the of the project is very personal for her, with Zendaya telling The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm not going to lie and tell you I was this comic book geek or anything because I wasn't. But when I got older, Spider-Man became my favorite. When the Tobey Maguire (movies) came out, I was still too young to really enjoy it. But when the (Andrew Garfield) revamp came out, I was like 16, and I went on my first date, and it was (The Amazing) Spider-Man, and I was obsessed with it.

"Spider-Man is always the coolest because he didn't come from money. He wasn't born with his superpower. It kind of just happens to him and he's just a kid, and he's just trying to balance living life and being a teenager and, like, hormones and problems and issues while also, like, doing the most outrageous things. He's always been the most relatable."

But her involvement in the new film has been soured by critics and fans who didn't like the idea of an African-American possibly playing Mary Jane.

Zendaya refuses to let all the negativity get her down, telling the publication, "People are going to react over anything. But nothing is fact. It's like, 'You guys are just making s**t up at this point and then reacting to it!'

"It's funny to watch the guessing game. But of course there's going to be outrage over that because for some reason some people just aren't ready. I'm like, 'I don't know what America you live in, but from what I see when I walk outside my streets of New York right now, I see lots of diversity and I see the real world and it's beautiful, and that's what should be reflected and that's what is reflected so you're just going to have to get over it'."