It has now been widely reported that actress Shailene Woodley has been cut out of The Amazing Spider-man 2. She was set to play the role of Mary Jane Watson, who is the rival for Peter Parker’s (Andrew Garfield) affections and the opposite number to Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Director Marc Webb said in a statement to the press (via Deadline):
“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.”
It is unclear as to whether the character will appear in the recently announced The Amazing Spider-man 3 or 4. The already filmed scenes could always end up in one of those films, or forever be a relic on the DVD and Blu-ray editions. However, Woodley also spoke with EW about being cut, indicating that Mary Jane at least would return in a later instalment:
“Of course I’m bummed. But I am a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason. MJ only appeared in a few scenes and I wouldn’t trade the experience of working with Andrew and Emma for three days on set for the world. Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand the need for holding off on introducing MJ until the next film.”
The actress recently finished a run on the The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, and made her cinema breakout performance in the Oscar-winning film The Descendants.
