Emma Stone is Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man

As expected, Emma Stone has been cast in the upcoming reboot of the Spider-Man franchise but NOT as Mary Jane Watson.  In a press release sent out by Columbia Pictures, it has been announced that she will be playing Peter Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy.

Stone joins The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield who will be playing Peter Parker when the film begins production this December under the direction of Marc Webb. When casting Stone as Gwen Stacy, Webb has this to say:

“The chemistry between Andrew and Emma was stunning and made Emma the clear choice. At the heart of the story of Peter Parker is not only the amazing Spider-Man, but also an ordinary teenager who is wondering what he has to do to get the girl. Andrew and Emma will bring everything audiences expect to these roles, but also make them their own. Much to my surprise, it was fun to find out that our choice for Gwen (Emma) is also a natural blonde.”

Over the last few days, the internet was a buzz that Stone might have been cast in the film.  It has been a natural assumption by everyone that Stone would play Peter Parker’s red haired love, Mary Jane. Then again, Stone’s past film roles in Superbad, Zombieland and Easy A almost always featured her as a red head. Stone had impressed the execs at Columbia so much they decided to cast her as the more important female role of Gwen Stacy in this film.

According to sources, the character of Mary Jane does not have a pivotal role in this new film, and the story will focus more on Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy.  In Marvel comic lore Gwen Stacy dies in a fight against the Green Goblin, but in order to distance itself from the previous trilogy of films, it is not expected that the Green Goblin will appear this time around. No word yet on which of Spidey’s other foes will take his place in this storyline.

The new Spider-man film is set to hit theaters in 3D July 3, 2012.