Zendaya brought “Bully Maguire” back while promoting ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ Her spot-on tribute to Tobey Maguire’s 2007 dance has gone viral.
According to Marca (Aug. 1, 2026), Zendaya knows exactly how to send Spider-Man fans into a frenzy. While promoting *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*, she recreated one of the most infamous scenes in superhero movie history: Tobey Maguire’s dance from *Spider-Man 3*.
The playful tribute immediately went viral. Fans praised Zendaya for capturing every awkward move, exaggerated swagger and over-the-top attitude that made the original legendary.
For context: in the original scene, Peter Parker gets taken over by the Venom symbiote. Suddenly overconfident and completely lacking self-awareness, he struts through the city to James Brown’s “People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul,” buys a new suit, flirts and eventually breaks into an aggressively enthusiastic dance routine. Audiences thought it was bizarre at first. Nearly two decades later, it’s one of the internet’s favorite memes — the character is lovingly known as “Bully Maguire” and still inspires edits, GIFs and parodies.
Zendaya clearly understood the assignment. In the promo clip, she leaned fully into the bit, recreating Maguire’s finger-pointing swagger, stiff-shouldered strut and rhythmic moves with uncanny precision. Social media erupted. “Zendaya just healed the internet,” one fan wrote. Another joked, “Bully Maguire has officially passed the torch.”
The moment hit harder because Zendaya has often spoken fondly of the earlier Spider-Man films. Before playing MJ opposite Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she grew up watching the Tobey Maguire trilogy and has publicly praised the actor who first brought Spider-Man to the big screen.
So the recreation felt like a genuine tribute, not a parody. The timing was perfect: *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* is one of the most anticipated superhero films coming out, and Sony and Marvel are ramping up promotional activity. Zendaya’s viral dance added even more buzz, reminding everyone how connected the Spider-Man franchise is across generations.
It also says something about Spider-Man fans: few franchises embrace their own quirks this enthusiastically. A scene once criticized has become a shared cultural joke — and seeing one of today’s biggest stars celebrate it so wholeheartedly felt like a full-circle moment.
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She recreated Tobey Maguire’s iconic “Bully Maguire” dance from Spider-Man 3 (2007) — the over-the-top routine Peter Parker performs after the Venom symbiote takes over, set to James Brown’s “People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul.”
Because she nailed every detail — the finger-pointing swagger, stiff shoulders and exaggerated moves. Fans said she “healed the internet” and that “Bully Maguire has officially passed the torch.”
