Shailene Woodley demonstrated her acting chops in the Oscar-nominated "The Descendants" and is said to have caught the eye of "Fifty Shades of Grey" author E.L. James.
Shailene Woodley, the actress who broke out in George Clooney‘s The Descendants, is in early talks to join Andrew Garfield in Columbia’s Spider-Man 2, THR has confirmed.
Woodley has been offered the role of Mary Jane Watson, the perennial red-headed love interest of Pater Parker in the Spider-Man comics. The role was previously played by Kirsten Dunst in the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy.
Columbia just closed deals with Marc Webb to return to the director’s chair after this summer’s web-head reboot, Amazing Spider-Man, grossed $752 million worldwide. The studio also closed deals with Garfield to reprise the title role and Emma Stone to return as Gwen Stacy.
The stage is now set for an angst-filled love triangle.
Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing the sequel. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci wrote the latest draft of the script, which is being kept locked tight. The studio has not yet revealed who the villain will be, for example.
Woodley stars in ABC Family’s The Secret Life of an American Teenager when she nabbed the role of George Clooney’s daughter in last year’s awards darling, The Descendants. The gig nabbed her numerous award nominations, including a Golden Globe nom for best supporting actress, as well as a win from the Independent Spirit Awards.
Teenager was canceled earlier this week, and will return for the final episodes of the season in March 2013.
