Peter Parker will have to wait a bit longer to meet Mary Jane Watson.
Actress Shailene Woodley has been dropped from the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man 2. She was set to play Mary Jane Watson in the film.
This doesn’t mean we won’t see Woodley in the role. Mary Jane had a minor role in the upcoming sequel but will have a more prominent one in Amazing Spider-Man 3.
The decision comes after director Marc Webb decided to streamline the story. Woodley had worked for three days on the sequel and filmed three scenes.
“I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship,” said Webb. “Shailene is an incredibly talented actress, and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her.”
The plan now is for Watson, one of Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s iconic love interests, to be introduced in the third movie.
It is likely that Woodley will not return and that the part will be recast.
“Of course I’m bummed,” Woodley told Entertainment Weekly, which first reported the news. “But I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason. … Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand holding off on introducing [Mary Jane] until the next film.”
The studio earlier this week planted the flag for the third and fourth Spider-Maninstallments, dating the movies June 10, 2016, and May 4, 2018.