Shailene Woodley, best known for 'The Fault In Our Stars,' almost starred as Mary Jane in 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' only for the role to be completely removed from the final version.
Shailene Woodley, best known for '
The Fault In Our Stars,' almost starred as Mary Jane in 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' only for the role to be completely removed from the final version. So, what happened? We've got you covered with all the details!
Speaking with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Conversations, Woodley called Mary Jane her 'dream role' while recalling the heartbreak of losing the part. The actress shared that she found out her scenes were being deleted a year after she had finished filming for the Andrew Garfield-starrer.
"I was cast as Mary Jane for Spider-Man, which was my dream. Oh my God, Spider-Man's my favourite superhero; Mary Jane was my favourite character growing up. So, when I got it, I was like, 'This is so exciting!' We filmed like three scenes together, me and Andrew Garfield. And then, like a year later, they were like, 'So, you're not in the movie anymore.' And I was like, 'What? What do you mean?' And they're like, 'We've introduced a lot of new characters in this last one, and we're going to wait for whatever happens between Emma Stone and Garfield." she said.
According to Woodley, the plan was to introduce her character after Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy dies, but the studio decided not to go ahead with the third installment after the second part's box office failure.
"They were like, 'Let's wait for her to die, and then we'll introduce Mary Jane.' It made sense, but then they didn't make that film. So, there was no reintroduction. That's what I was told, but again, who knows what the truth is? I could have been terrible, and they were like, 'We can't do this,'" added Woodley.
In Sam Raimi's directorial Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, Mary Jane was played by Kirsten Dunst. In Garfield's films, the makers focused on Peter Parker's relationship with Gwen Stacy. In 2016, Zendaya was officially cast as MJ in '
Spider-Man: Homecoming.' Most recently, she reprised her role in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day.'
Shailene Woodley's next project
On the work front, Shailene will be seen in the upcoming crime drama '
Unabomber,' set to release on Netflix on September 25, 2026.(Feature Image Credits: Shailene Woodley Instagram)
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