How was that nitpicking? And bringing up personal bias doesn't help your argument, because one could easily argue that your interpretation of 'the facts' is just as (if not more) biased than mine. I'm not doubting that the Peter/Gwen thing was legitimately one of the reasons why the character's scenes were dropped.
Personally, I just can't believe that was the ONLY reason for removing MJ's scenes, since realistically speaking, it's something that Sony, Webb, or the writers most likely thought about before wasting money on casting an actress for the role. I believe that Webb feels as though he can do a better job with the character at a later point in time. Now this is just speculation based on what little information they have given us, and you can choose to believe whatever you want. What we do know is that MJ was cut, MJ's introduction will be rewritten at a later point in time, Woodley was great to work with, Woodley may or may not return, and the film was 'streamlined to focus on Peter and Gwen'.
But Webb has not gone in depth about his plans for the character (Whether or not he will keep the direction that he originally intended, make some slight adjustments, or take the opportunity to do something completely different). Heck, he probably hasn't even made a decision yet. As I've said before, any incarnation of the character and any actress (or actor) for the role (including Woodley herself) is a possibility at this point.
And lol Ben Affleck for the role would be great. My only criticism is that he's a little too old for MJ.
