‘Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Spoiler: Why Mary Jane Was Really Cut From the Film

As 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' continues production, to hopefully reveal tons of goodies during Comic-Con 2013, a major cut was made to the cast -- Shailene Woodley's Mary Jane Watson was completely dropped from the second film. Though we, especially those familiar with the comic book storyline, already figured it out, the reason for this change has been revealed.

[SPOILER WARNING: Stop reading now ...]

In a statement, director Marc Webb said he "made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship," but we all knew it was a little more than that.

Even before the cut was made, set photos, specifically one collection depicting Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy sporting an outfit that's all too familiar to comic book readers, it's been speculated that Stone will bite the dust in this one. Now it's been confirmed by an unnamed source to HollywoodLife.com, and it reportedly was the deciding factor for cutting Mary Jane from the story:

Emma Stone’s character dies in the next film and that really would take a bunch out of the film if Spider-Man all the sudden starts dating a new girl so close to an important character's death. They were noticing this occurring as they filmed Shailene’s scenes. They want to make the death of Gwen Stacy really mean something and then it will leave room for Shailene to shine in the third film.

As far as the report of Shailene Woodley dropping out completely and the Mary Jane role going to another actress, no more information has been revealed. Although, if you think about Woodley's upcoming slate -- 'Divergent' and 'The Fault in Our Stars' -- it makes sense that her busy future might not mesh with the 'Spider-Man' production schedule.

There's still tons to look forward to in 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' though -- aside from Jamie Foxx's Electro, there's also Paul Giamatti's Rhino, Chris Cooper's Norman Osborn/Green Goblin and Colm Feore as the suspected Vulture. The current plan is to hold off introducing Mary Jane until 'Amazing Spider-Man 3,' which is totally reasonable if you ask us.

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' hits theaters May 2, 2014. 'The Amazing Spider-Man 3' is coming on June 10, 2016 and 'The Amazing Spider-Man 4' hits May 4, 2018.