Divergent star Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but her scenes were ultimately left on the cutting room floor.
Later, we learned that she'd been removed from the already jam-packed sequel because of time constraints. However, there was also speculation that Sony paid perhaps a little too much attention to the immature, often gross, discourse surrounding MJ's appearance (Woodley was spotted on set alongside Andrew Garfield in photos that drew a mixed response).
In a new interview, the actress reflected on her brief stint in the Marvel Universe. After revealing why she was cut, Woodley confirmed the plan had been for her to reprise the role in The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
"We shot it. That was a fun phone call," she recalled. "I was cast as Mary Jane for 'Spider-Man,' which was my dream because I really—oh my God, Spider-Man's my favourite superhero. Mary Jane was my favourite character growing up. So, when I got it, I was like, 'This is so exciting.'"
"We filmed like three scenes together, me and Andrew Garfield," Woodley continued. "And then, like a year later, they were like, 'So, you're not in the movie anymore.' And I was like, 'What? What do you mean?'"
"They were like, 'We’ve introduced a lot of new characters in this last one, and we're going to wait for Emma Stone's—like, whatever happens between her and Andrew,'" she added. "They were like, 'Let’s wait for her to die, and then we’ll introduce Mary Jane,' which made sense. But then they didn’t make that film."
Sony Pictures planned to follow The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Sinister Six, The Amazing Spider-Man 3, and The Amazing Spider-Man 4. All those plans went out the window when the second movie wasn't the $1 billion hit the studio expected.
The Sony Hack email had made fans aware of talks with Marvel Studios about bringing Spidey into the MCU. It became clear that was what people wanted, and Tom Holland ultimately took over the role from Andrew Garfield, making his official MCU debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.
Elaborating on why her scenes didn't make it into The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Woodley said, "They thought it would be weird to introduce a new love interest. Well, that's what I was told, you know, but again, who knows what the truth is? I could have been terrible, and they’re like, 'We can’t do this.'"
Teasing a possible romance between Peter and MJ while he was pining after Gwen Stacy—and right before her death—would have been an odd decision, but Sony threw everything at the wall for the sequel and not everything stuck. A subplot about Norman Osborn's preserved, decapitated head was scrapped, as was a cameo from the Venom Symbiote and Richard Parker's return.
The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was rumoured to feature a special formula that raised the dead, meaning both Captain Stacy and Gwen were set to appear in some capacity. Sony executives even considered turning the latter into Carnage.
You can hear more from Woodley on playing The Amazing Spider-Man 2's MJ in the player below.