Shailene Woodley has opened up about one of the biggest “what if” moments in modern Spider-Man history. The actress was originally cast as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and filmed scenes alongside Andrew Garfield, only for her entire role to be cut from the 2014 superhero sequel.
Speaking during a career retrospective with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Woodley recalled discovering long after filming that she would not appear in the movie.
Shailene Woodley Had Filmed Three Scenes With Andrew Garfield
Woodley explained that playing Mary Jane was a dream role because Spider-Man had always been especially important to her.
“Spider-Man’s my favorite superhero. Mary Jane was my favorite character growing up,”
she said, describing her excitement after being cast.
The actress revealed that she and Garfield had already filmed
“like three scenes together”
before she received unexpected news roughly a year later.
“They were like, ‘So, you’re not in the movie anymore,’”
Woodley recalled, adding that she was stunned by the decision.
According to Woodley, the filmmakers felt The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had already introduced many new characters. The decision was reportedly made to keep the emotional focus on Peter Parker’s relationship with Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, rather than introducing another major love interest.
Mary Jane Was Expected to Return Later
Woodley said she was told that Mary Jane would be introduced after Gwen Stacy’s death, allowing the character to enter Peter Parker’s life in a later story.
“Let’s wait for [Gwen Stacy] to die and then we’ll introduce Mary Jane,”
she recalled being told.
That plan ultimately never happened because The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was not made. As a result, Woodley’s Mary Jane remains one of the most significant deleted characters in the franchise, despite the actress having completed scenes with Garfield.
Variety also reported that producer Matt Tolmach explained in 2014 that the filmmakers had simply taken on more story than could fit into the finished movie. Woodley’s Mary Jane footage has still not been officially released, leaving fans to wonder what her version of the iconic character could have looked like.
