Shailene Woodley says she came amazingly close to fulfilling her “dream” role in the “Spider-Verse.”
The "Motor City" actress, 34, opened up about being cast as Mary Jane Watson in Marc Webb’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2," starring Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging superhero. Woodley booked the gig without an audition after meeting with Webb; however, her hopes of seeing herself on the big screen were dashed when she learned that the scenes she had filmed were left on the cutting-room floor.
The “Big Little Lies” star recounted that “fun” phone call in an interview as part of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations series, released Aug. 24, wherein she admitted the role “was my dream because … Mary Jane was my favorite character growing up.”
“So,
when I got it, I was like, ‘This is so exciting,’” added Woodley, who said she’d already shot three scenes with Garfield before things fell silent.
“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?’” she recalled being told of her part as Mary Jane in the sequel to 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Woodley’s representative and Sony Pictures Entertainment for comment.
Shailene Woodley Mary Jane scenes cut from 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'
Woodley said she was given the following explanation: “They were 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’s Gwen Stacy and Garfield’s Peter Parker in the movie.
Considering Gwen – spoiler alert! – dies in the 2014 film, the filmmakers ultimately decided to remove Mary Jane from the storyline to avoid confusing audiences by having Peter have another love interest.
They apparently told her, “’Let’s wait for [Gwen Stacy] to die, and then we’ll introduce Mary Jane,’" which the “Divergent” star said "made sense. But then they didn’t make that film.”
Despite her disbelief, Woodley took things in stride, adding, “But again, who knows what the truth is. I could have been terrible, and they’re like, ‘We can’t do this.'”
As Spidey fans know, Mary Jane Watson’s live-action counterpart has primarily been Kirsten Dunst, who originated the part in the franchise’s first three installments from 2002 to 2007. In the Tom Holland-led “Spider-Man” flicks, Zendaya portrays Michelle Jones-Watson, an homage to the original MJ.
Fans can watch Woodley next in Netflix's upcoming drama "Unabomber," which stars her and Alexander Ludwig as FBI agents hunting down the elusive domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski. The film streams Sept. 25.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shailene Woodley reveals why her dream 'Spider-Man' role was cut
