Why Shailene Woodley Was Cut From Spider-Man

As we learned this week, Shailene Woodley was cut from the in production of Spider-Man‘s sequel — a development the young actress admits was quite disappointing.

Why Shailene Woodley was cut from Spider-Man wasn’t something the star addressed when confirming the news to media, but she did speak of how she feels bigger and better things may be in store.

Woodley spoke about losing the role after filming had started and she’d already put in time on set playing major character Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker’s perennial girl next door love interest.

She explained that while the disappointment stung, the experience gained working on Spider-Man, albeit briefly, was a good one:

“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 [Garfield] and Emma [Stone] for three days on set for the world.”

So why was Shailene Woodley axed from The Amazing Spider-Man‘s sequel?

Director Marc Webb addressed the odd choice, saying that storyline constraints meant Mary Jane’s role was more suited to subsequent films:

“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 seems Webb shared this information with Woodley, who also said:

“Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand the need for holding off on introducing MJ until the next film.”

Shailene Woodley’s Spider-Man future isn’t in total peril, however. Woodley, who even colored her brunette locks red to star as Mary Jane, is expected to be involved with the film’s subsequent installment due out in 2016.