Shailene Woodley was originally hired to play the iconic role of Mary-Jane Watson in the upcoming film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 . She has now confirmed that she won’t be in the movie after all, but that she also understands the decision to cut her role.
“Of course I’m bummed,” Woodley told Entertainment Weekly . “But I am a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason.”
She worked on the film in February and March, but she won’t be playing the iconic character any longer and it’s even been rumored that the role is being recast . No matter how it all pans out, Woodley seems to believe the decision came due to the proposed plot line.
“Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand the need for holding off on introducing [Mary Jane] until the next film,” she said.
She changed her hair color to bright red for the part, but those changes won’t be necessary any longer for Shailene Woodley after the film’s director explained his reasoning behind the decision.
“I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship,” director Marc Webb told The Hollywood Reporter . “Shailene is an incredibly talented actress and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her.”
Though she won’t be starring in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , she is setup for multiple roles going forward as well as her upcoming film The Spectacular Now . The comedy-drama will feature Woodley next to Miles Teller, who recently appeared in Project X and the remake of Footloose in 2011.
With more work on the way, Woodley continues to be in the spotlight for getting the boot from The Amazing Spider-Man sequel. Nevertheless, she isn’t complaining just yet and there’s still the possibility that she will return to the series in future films.
Do you think director Marc Webb made the right decision by cutting Shailene Woodley from her role as Mary-Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ?
[Image via Tom Sorensen]