Shailene Woodley Cut from “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Published at(LOS ANGELES) — Spider-Man has lost one of his gal-pals for his next film.
The Descendants star Shailene Woodley had been cast as Mary Jane Watson for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2014. However, the director of the film has announced that the scenes the 21-year-old actress has shot will be left on the cutting-room floor.
In a statement obtained by Deadline.com, director Marc Webb says, “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.”
Emma Stone is reprising her role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, with Andrew Garfield again playing the superhero. Mary Jane Watson will be introduced in the third Spider-Man film, due out in 2016, though it’s unclear if Woodley will remain in the role.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Woodley — a cast member of the just-concluded ABC Family series The Secret Life Of The American Teenager — says she is “bummed” that she will be excluded from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but adds that she is “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.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio