My 16-Year-Old Daughter Came Home with a $3,000 Laptop – When I Asked Who Bought It, She Gave Me an Address
Sep 03, 2026
Shailene Woodley | Source: Getty Images
Shailene Woodley Got This Role on ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ — And Lost It
By
Akhona Zungu
Sep 04, 202612:00 P.M.
Landing a role in a Marvel franchise is a dream for many actors, but for Woodley, that dream had an unexpected ending. She recently opened up about the confusing aftermath of a part that never made it to the screen.
Advertisement
Shailene Woodley says she wasn't aware her role as Mary Jane in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" had been written off until a year after she filmed her scenes with Andrew Garfield, who played the eponymous superhero.
Shailene Woodley attends the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations: Shailene Woodley Career Retrospective event at The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists on August 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
"That was a fun phone call," the actress quipped during a recent interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
"I was cast as Mary Jane for 'Spider-Man,' which was my dream," she explained. "Oh my god, Spider-Man's my favorite superhero; Mary Jane was my favorite character growing up. So, when I got it, I was like, 'This is so exciting!'"
Woodley, 34, said that she and Garfield, 43, shot roughly "three scenes together," and she fully expected them to make the final cut. "Then, like a year later, they were like, 'So, you're not in the movie anymore.' I was like, 'What? What do you mean?'" she recalled.
Advertisement
Shailene Woodley speaks at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations: Shailene Woodley Career Retrospective event at The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists on August 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
She continued, "And they're like, 'We've introduced a lot of new characters in this last one, and we're going to wait for whatever happens between [Emma Stone] and Andrew [Garfield].'"
The "Divergent" star explained that Mary Jane had originally been slated to appear following the death of Stone's character, Gwen Stacy. "That's what I was told, but again, who knows what the truth is? I could have been terrible, and they were like, 'We can't do this,'" Woodley joked.
Plans for a third installment were ultimately scrapped altogether. Garfield first stepped into the role of Peter Parker in 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man," opposite Stone, 37, who played his on-screen love interest.
Stone's character met her end at the close of the second film during a clash with the villainous Harry Osborn, portrayed by Dane DeHaan.
Advertisement
