The Mary Jane That Could've Been in 'Spider-Man 2'

The Amazing Spider-man 2 opens this weekend, but it just doesn't feel quite right without the series' iconic love interest, Mary Jane. The iconic role was to be played by Shailene Woodley in a small appearance, but Shailene Woodley was eventually cut from Spider-Man to focus more on Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy's relationship (but don't cry for Woodley — we hear she's doing pretty well playing the hero instead of the damsel in Divergent). But in an interview with Mark Webb, the director revealed what Woodley's role as Mary Jane would've been like:

There was one little scene at the beginning where she is next door and it took place right around the montage where he comes back and there was another little moment between Gwen and MJ. But it just tipped over. The relationship between them [Peter and Gwen] is so sacred and so powerful, that it just didn't feel right. And it sucks because Shailene is such a f**king great actress and so cool and magical but it was just about having this obligation to this romance that I thought was sacred. It was just one of those things.

Webb says that Mary Jane will be introduced into the Spider-man franchise, and Woodley was eventually slated to appear in the third and fourth films. But it's unclear whether Woodley will return to the films, especially with the success of the Divergent franchise.

Although Woodley might not return to the Spider-man films, another rising young star is slated to appear in The Amazing Spider-man 2: Felicity Jones. The British actress is set to play Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat, a cat burglar and anti-heroine in the comics. The character has a romantic relationship with Spider-man in the comics, and Webb weighed in on whether we would see sparks fly between the two in the next movie:

Who knows what's going to happen with that in the future. But there are a few possibilities we're exploring but in terms of theme, that's certainly an interesting thing to play with.

With all these potential romances, who knows how Spider-man has any time for crime fighting. But here's hoping for the small chance that Woodley gets a little more than a moment in the next film.