While Mary Jane Watson wasn’t in The Amazing Spider-man, she was supposed to be in the sequel, with Descendants star Shailene Woodley taking the role. However it now appears her scenes have been cut.
Entertainment Weekly recently spoke with actress Woodley about her role in the upcoming YA adaptation Divergent, and it was actress herself who revealed that she has been bumped from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. She says, “Of course I’m bummed. But I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason….based on the proposed plot, I completely understand holding off on introducing (Mary Jane) until the next film.”
Woodley’s role in the movie was only going to be small – indeed she only shot for three days on the movie – leading into an expanded role in Amazing Spider-man 3.
Director Marc Webb comments, “I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship. Shailene is an incredibly talented actress, and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her.”
While the character of Mary Jane Watson is still expected to appear in the third adventure, it appears she may be recast and that Woodley is out. Indeed, some are speculating that with Sony wanting Spidey movies in 2014, 2016 and 2018, potential conflicts with Woodley’s schedule on Divergent and any sequels to that movie are behind why she’s been dropped from the second Spider-man film and will be recast for the third and fourth. We’ll have to wait and see whether Woodley does indeed get replaced.