Before Zendaya became the MCU’s Spider-Man MJ, another actress actually filmed scenes as Mary Jane Watson that never made it to screen. Shailene Woodley revealed why Sony cut her from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and what could have been.
Shailene Woodley on why her Mary Jane scenes were cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Shailene Woodley recently revealed why her Mary Jane Watson scenes were cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The actress shared the details during a SAG-AFTRA Foundation career retrospective interview on August 25, 2026.
Woodley explained that Sony initially cast her as Mary Jane, fulfilling a childhood dream. “Spider-Man’s my favorite superhero. Mary Jane was my favorite character growing up,” she said. She then filmed three scenes alongside Andrew Garfield before receiving unexpected news about her removal.
The studio told Woodley they had introduced too many new characters in the sequel. They wanted to wait for Gwen Stacy’s storyline to conclude before bringing in Mary Jane. “They were like, ‘Let’s wait for her to die, and then we’ll introduce Mary Jane,'” Woodley recalled. She acknowledged the reasoning made sense from a narrative standpoint.
However, Sony never produced The Amazing Spider-Man 3, where Woodley would have reprised the role. The sequel underperformed commercially, falling short of the studio’s $1 billion expectations. Sony subsequently struck a deal with Marvel Studios to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. Tom Holland eventually took over the role, debuting in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Woodley also addressed whether her performance might have contributed to the decision. “They thought it would be weird to introduce a new love interest,” she said. She then added with self-deprecating humor, “Who knows what the truth is? I could have been terrible.” The actress notably did not audition for the role traditionally. Instead, she secured the part through a general meeting with director Marc Webb.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 already juggled multiple villains, subplots, and franchise setup elements. Introducing a new love interest alongside Gwen Stacy’s death would have further overcrowded the film.
