The new Mary Jane Watson has some serious competition. Shailene Woodley, who plays Watson in the upcoming "Amazing Spider Man 2," was spotted on the New York set with the character's classic red locks, a new look for the normally brunette actress. While Woodley will undoubtedly face comparisons to Kirsten Dunst, who played the part in iconic fashion in director Sam Rami's previous trilogy, she will also be competing with another character Dunst never had— Gwen Stacey, played by Emma Stone.
Stacey played the part of Spidey's love interest in "The Amazing Spider Man," but it is unclear whether it will be Stacey or Woodley that steals Spiderman's heart in the second installation. Spiderman, played by Andrew Garfield, drew pretty good reviews for his portray of the superhero also made famous recently by Tobey Maguire, who played the role nearly a decade ago now.
The love web in "Spiderman 2" might be a tough one for Spidey to find his way out of. Also cast in the film and rumored to be playing the mesmerizing villain Black Cat is actress Felicity Jones. I guess those are the kinds of problems you get tangled in when you're a young superhero living in New York City.
Despite her competition for screen time with Garfield, the role should be a defining one for Woodley—who got her start in the 2011 Oscar-winning film, "The Descendants," which starred George Clooney. She previously spent five years on the ABC Family show, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," which she recently left. As she told US Weekly, the ending "was bittersweet," but that "it's also great to be moving on, to be moving forward onto other things."
Also cast for the second movie will be Paul Giamatti as the villainous Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich, or 'the Rhino,' described by writer Mike Conroy as "famously one of Spider-Man's dimmest villains."
Did you see the last "Spiderman" flick? What do you think of the new Mary Jane Watson? Will she live up to the legacy left by Kirsten Dunst? How will Emma Stone's character fit into the next movie? Let us know how you feel.