The girl who played GEORGE CLOONEY's daughter in THE DESCENDANTS has emerged as the front-runner to play MARY JANE WATSON in the sequel to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

Variety reports Shailene Woodley is in negotiations to join Andrew Garfield in director Marc Webb's follow-up to this year's (12) hit blockbuster.

The role has most famously been played on the big screen by Kirsten Dunst, who portrayed Peter Parker's girlfriend Mary Jane in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire as the webslinger.

The casting news comes on the same day as the cancellation of Woodley's TV drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show will be axed after its upcoming fifth season.