The first big-budget cinematic appearance of Gwen Stacy was in Spider-Man 3, with Bryce Dallas Howard portraying the character in a supporting role, as Mary Jane was already serving as Peter's main love interest in that trilogy.

[5] After a few more actresses were considered, Stone was announced as the winner of the role in October 2010 due to her chemistry with Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield.

[8] She felt that she had a responsibility to educate herself on Spider-Man, admitting she "hadn't read the comic book growing up, and my experience was with the Sam Raimi movies...

[18][19] By early 2015, a deal to reboot the series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was reached, effectively cancelling the Amazing Spider-Man franchise.

[20] Screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna wrote at various points versions of the story for the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home that included Gwen Stacy, alongside appearances of Sally Field's Aunt May and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson, but Sommers and McKenna ultimately concluded that the story felt already overstuffed, ultimately choosing Zendaya's Michelle "MJ" Jones and Marisa Tomei's Aunt May to be the only female characters in the film with significant screen time.

[9][23] She said of her character, "she offers Parker a world of stability, of a family unit not marred with parental loss and, beyond physical allure, the two forge an intellectual connection over their shared love of science.

"[9] Her character, she explained, "is stuck between [her father] the Captain and Peter Parker and Spider-Man, who have different ways about going about finding justice in their lives" which she felt was a fun thing to explore.

[10] Dana Stevens of Slate described the character "as the stuff of a comic nerd's dreams: a sweet, smart, wisecracking dame in demure sweaters, miniskirts, thigh-high stockings and boots.

"[25] Emily Kubincanek of Film School Rejects observes that unlike Mary Jane Watson, the primary love interest in the Raimi trilogy, Gwen Stacy, as portrayed in the Marc Webb films, provides a "feeling of partnership" in her relationship with Peter Parker and is more than willing to aid him in his battles, even at the cost of her own life when she helps him against Electro and is subsequently targeted and killed by the Green Goblin.

[26] Gwen first appears as the daughter of NYPD captain George Stacy and as a classmate to Peter Parker and Flash Thompson at Midtown Science High School.

They encounter each other later at Oscorp, where Gwen is interning as a research assistant, as Peter sneaks into the facility to find Dr. Curt Connors and is later bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him new abilities.

Gwen also plays a crucial part in the Lizard's defeat; having helped Peter develop an antidote for Connors' serum for turning people into reptilian hybrids using her own scientific knowledge.

She calls him, telling him that he'll be "late" to the graduation ceremony while unbeknownst to her, he is in action as Spider-Man helping the NYPD apprehend Aleksei Sytsevich.

Gwen recognizes Max and starts asking questions; Donald Menken, a high ranking and mutinous Oscorp board member, decides that she is a threat, fires her and targets her for elimination.

Just after they do so, Harry arrives, now as the Green Goblin, having figured out Spider-Man's identity and wanting revenge for being refused a potentially life-saving blood transfusion.

Gwen appears in comics that tie into both films in the series, helping Peter redesign his Spider-Man suit and attempting to maintain a friendship with him after their initial breakup before resuming their relationship.

[29] Following the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Alison Willmore of BuzzFeed cited Stone's performance and the love story of two people "hopelessly smitten with each other" as the highlights of the film, with the other subplots and villains serving to "complicate the relationship between Peter and Gwen."