Ever since it was announced late last month that Marc Webb would be returning to direct The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony has not been wasting any time as they prepare for an early 2013 production start. Casting is now underway for some of the new characters that will join Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy in the sequel, and the first key role they are looking for is a pretty familiar one: Mary Jane Watson (previously played by Kirsten Dunst in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy). Once again, they are in search of a young, up and coming star and their top choice appears to be Shailene Woodley, best known for appearances in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

According to Variety, Shailene Woodley is already in early talks for the role and if all goes according to plan she will soon be dying her hair red. Woodley is just 20 years old but she was able to hold her own opposite George Clooney in The Descendants. She’s not a big name but it does seem like she could pull off the whole “girl next door” thing quite well.

Sony is also reportedly looking to cast a new Harry Osborn, although it doesn’t sound like his father Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin) is involved as of yet. The currently rumoured villain for this installment still seems to be Electro, although that is largely based on a simple flash of lightning that was seen in the post-credit scene at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man. What are your initial impressions of how The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is shaping up? Are they still not doing enough to set this movie apart from the previous trilogy?