Shailene Woodley films Amazing Spider-Man 2
Shailene Woodley thinks it was "smart" to cut her role from 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'.
The actress had filmed scenes as Mary Jane Parker - the iconic love interest of Spider-Man/Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield - in the upcoming flick, but her role was axed by director Marc Webb last month in order to focus on Spider-Man's earlier romance with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Although Woodley initially revealed she was "bummed" to be cut from the movie, she has now insisted it was wise of the director to axe the character - who is an important part of Spider-Man's life - because she only had a small role in the film.
She explained: "I think it's smart, honestly. Looking back at it, MJ was in, I think, four scenes. I shot three days and they were good scenes, but they were also like 45-second long scenes, and to introduce such a vital character like that doesn't make much sense in the end.
"In the beginning I don't think it was something anybody ever really thought about, because it was just like, 'OK, we'll introduce MJ in this one, and bring her back in the next.' But then after they sort of started cutting it together, they realised that it didn't make much sense."
The flame-haired love interest is now expected to be introduced in 'The Amazing Spider-Man 3' in 2016, but the role may be recast as Woodley pursues her own movie franchise with a lead role in next year's teen fantasy epic, 'Divergent'.
She added to MTV News: "There's not even a script for the third one. So it's one of those things where I would absolutely love to do it, but if 'Divergent' does well, hopefully timing would work out."
Webb announced plans to "streamline" the plot for his upcoming sequel last month, saying: "I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship. Shailene is an incredibly talented actress and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her."
Tagged in Marc Webb Andrew Garfield Shailene Woodley