Amazing Spider-Man Franchise Recruits Sarah Gadon

Canadian actress Sarah Gadon, who starred in David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis and is currently slated to start production on Dracula soon, has reportedly signed on for a role in The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. That's it--no indication of what role, or which movie. Of course, with the news breaking earlier this week that Shailene Woodley appears to be leaving the series after her character was cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, most outlets are already speculating that Gadon will play Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4. It all started with the image at left, and an accompanying tweet from Entertainment Tonight Canada: "Huge news for @sarahgadon - she just confirmed to us that she is joining The Amazing Spider-Man franchise," it said, and that's it. Rumors surfaced earlier today that Gadon had been cast as Mary Jane Watson, but The Wrap's Jeff Sneider tweeted that he had heard differently, and the announcement that she had in fact been cast in the film didn't change his mind. "Joining franchise wouldn't be same as playing MJ...," he hinted, noting that it's not common for someone to get a huge role in a major motion picture and then immediately reveal that information before clearing it with the studio.