Some of the first images to come from the set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 set were of actress Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, and now it appears that footage won’t be seen in the upcoming sequel. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly (thanks to SHH user ‘fuflipflops’), Woodley confirmed that her character will be cut out of the second movie and won’t appear until the third film in the series.

“Of course I’m bummed,” said the actress. “But I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason….based on the proposed plot, I completely understand holding off on introducing (Mary Jane) until the next film.”

“I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship,” said director Marc Webb in a statement. “Shailene is an incredibly talented actress and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her.”

The third and fourth films in the franchise were recently dated for release in 2016 and 2018, respectively. What do you think of Mary Jane not appearing in the upcoming film? Sound off below!

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, opening May 2, 2014, for Peter Parker (Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)