Shailene Woodley is an acclaimed actress who has been acting in both major and minor roles for over 20 years. She initially started out playing small roles in big shows like the OC, CSI: NY, My name is Earl, and Everyone loves Raymond before landing bigger parts in hit movies like The descendants and The spectacular now. 2014 would be a breakthrough year for the star, as she had the first different slated for release at the beginning of the year and two summer films: The Fault in Our Stars and The Amazing Spider Man 2 where she would play Mary Jane Watson. While the star had a stellar 2014, one of those appearances has never been seen since Woodley was cut from the series The Amazing Spider Man 2.
Update October 3, 2022: This article has been updated to include more details about Shailene Woodley’s role of The Amazing Spider Man 2 and Sony’s original plans for the franchise.
Mary Jane is one of the most important characters in Spider-Man history, and the casting of a star like Woodley seemed like an indication of the franchise’s long-term potential. The Amazing Spider Man 2 director Marc Webb stated that Woodley’s involvement wouldn’t be a big part of the film, likely an extended cameo that laid the groundwork for later films like the planned The Amazing Spider Man 3 and The Amazing Spider Man 4.
Removing her from the film should not be underestimated, especially when she was going to be a big part of the future Great Spider Man movie storylines. However, directors are often forced to make difficult decisions in the editing process. They don’t always have the last word and in the case of The Amazing Spider Man 2, Sony Pictures had invested heavily in the film and was closely involved in the editing. The film wasn’t just supposed to be a sequel to The Amazing Spider Man 2 but also set up a cinematic universe with multiple spin-off films. Let’s take a closer look at why Shailene Woodley’s MJ was cut from The Amazing Spider Man 2.
Did Shailene Woodley film scenes for The Amazing Spider-Man 2?
Based on set photos taken during filming, there were at least 3 key scenes shot with Woodley’s involvement. One shows her working with a hammer on the porch of a house when she meets Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone). In a second scene, Woodley holds her motorcycle and talks to Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield), who is currently working under the hood of a car.
The third has Woodley running out of a cafe where she works (known for wearing a cafe apron), probably because of the loud noise of a car landing upside down. This scene ends up in the final film during the Rhino’s introduction, but all of Woodley’s footage has been cut out. Her presence at the end during the Rhino’s appearance was likely a way of laying the groundwork for her and Peter Parker’s future relationship, as she was present when Spider-Man made his big return.
Shailene Woodley was supposed to appear in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 instead
While Woodley’s role in The Amazing Spider Man 2 was small, it was cast with the intention that she would have a bigger role in the sequels. Woodley was cast in 2012 and filmed her scenes in early 2013, but in the summer of 2013, it was confirmed that she had already been cut from the film. Worth noting when she was cut from the movie, either different nor The Fault in Our Stars opened in theaters. One wonders if Sony would have removed her from the film if they knew how big her career was going to be. It’s unclear if they planned to get her back after Woodley’s haircut The Amazing Spider Man 3 or if they would have cast the role with a different star.
Woodley being cut from the film made her one of two high profile stars to be cut from the 2014 Marvel movies, the other being Anna Paquin’s Rogue in X-Men: Days of Future Past. But while Anna Paquin’s scenes were restored in the director’s cut, The Amazing Spider Man 3 was cancelled, meaning Woodley’s Mary Jane never got a chance to appear.
MJ’s Look Could Be Like Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 3 In Reverse
In Marvel Comics, Gwen Stacy is often seen as Peter Parker’s first serious love interest, with Mary Jane as a romantic rival. Mary Jane then became the primary Spider-Man novel after Gwen Stacy’s death. One of the most famous couples in Marvel Comics, Peter and Mary Jane later got married, but it ended in the controversial “One More Day” storyline.
In the Sam Raimi Spider Man trilogy, as Mary Jane Watson is Peter Parker’s comic current love interest, she became his first love in the movies, bringing in Gwen Stacy Spider Man 3 to be a romantic rival to Mary Jane. In a way to distinguish The Amazing Spider-Man of the previous three Spider Man movies, the filmmakers chose Gwen Stacy as the central romance. anyway with The Amazing Spider Man 2 adapting the iconic storyline “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”, it made sense in the long run to introduce Mary Jane into the film series to get her ready for future movies.
Why Shailene Woodley Was Removed From The Movie
There has never been a specific reason why Woodley was cut from the roster The Amazing Spider Man 2. It seems director Marc Webb didn’t want to distract attention from the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, especially since their romance was the emotional core of the film. The Great Spider Man star Andrew Garfield was quoted as saying it was a “bummer” and that Shailene Woodley did “simply beautiful work”.
However, he understood the reasoning behind the move, saying: Yahoo! Movies: “in the sense of storytelling, there was no point in proposing another girl.” Woodley made a good decision despite the move was a blow to her ego. Woodley told Vanity Fair she felt that “everything happens for a reason” and “it makes perfect sense.”
Another reason Woodley may have been removed from the film could be in regards to the franchise’s bigger plans. In December 2013, after Woodley was cut from the movie Sony Pictures announced, The Amazing Spider Man 3 and The Amazing Spider Man 4 they were also making Sinister Six and venom.
The studio probably decided to use the runtime of The Amazing Spider Man 2 to set up those future villain-focused movies, as the finished movie not only features Green Goblin, Electro, and Rhino, but also Alistair Smythe and Felicia Hardy, as well as teases for Doc Ock and Vulture. Woodley’s scenes as Mary Jane were probably cut to make way for more villains because that was the future Sony had planned The Amazing Spider-Man franchise before it got out of hand.