The humorously hateful news boss J. Jonah Jameson, one of the most iconic characters in Spider-Man's mythos, was never mentioned in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). In this sequel he is spoken of frequently but never appears. The producers claimed they could not find an actor to measure up to J.K. Simmons' legendary portrayal of this character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. Stan Lee, the writer who came up with the idea for these characters and makes cameo appearances in all the films, has often said he would volunteer to play Jameson if he (Lee) were 30 or 40 years younger. Ironically, when casting Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), they could still think of no one better than Simmons, so he resumed his role as Jameson.
Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson, and even filmed scenes. But her role was cut from the film because the filmmakers felt there were too many characters and wanted to streamline the series.
Felicity Jones's role was significantly cut down due to time constraints. In an interview, Jones stated that she would be an ally to Harry Osborn/Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and at one point, even let it slip that she was playing "the Goblin's girlfriend". Though a small scene showing her alliance to Harry was in the final cut, scenes that implied that there were romantic feelings between the two characters were cut from the film.
(at around 22 mins) The dog that Gwen walks while Peter spies on her from a rooftop, was adopted by Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in 2013.
Stan Lee: (at around 14 mins) A guest at the graduation who sees Peter in his cap and gown but wearing the Spider-Man mask, says "I think I know that guy!".