Before Zendaya took over the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, another actor almost played Mary Jane Watson on the big screen. Shailene Woodley was originally cast as the iconic comic book character in the 2014 superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While she was thrilled to land what she considered an absolute dream role, the studio ultimately decided to cut her entirely from the final theatrical version.
The actress shot multiple scenes before a surprise phone call
Woodley recently sat down for a career conversation and shared what it felt like to lose the part. She explained that she did not even have to do a formal audition. Instead, she just had a meeting with the director. She found that process a bit nerve-wracking because she was never completely sure she had earned the spot based on her acting skills. Even so, she was a massive fan of the web-slinging hero growing up. Landing the part felt like a massive victory, and she went on to film three separate scenes alongside Andrew Garfield.
About a year after wrapping her work on set, Woodley received a phone call from Sony. The studio explained it was trimming her parts from the movie. It felt the sequel already had too many characters and villains packed into the story. Its new plan was to wait for the storyline with Gwen Stacy to end, giving Mary Jane a proper introduction in a third movie.
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Woodley joked that the company might have just hated her acting, but she understood the creative choice. The problem is that the third movie never actually happened. The second film did not perform as well as Sony hoped, and the company decided to reboot the franchise with Tom Holland instead.
While Andrew Garfield eventually put the suit back on years later, Woodley never got the chance to show audiences her version of Mary Jane. Fans can only guess how she would have changed the story if the studio had stuck to its original plan.
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