Status: Confirmed. Angourie Rice has finally addressed the question Spider-Man fans have been asking since the summer, and her answer is refreshingly honest. Speaking on Collider Ladies Night, the actress behind Betty Brant explained where the character is during Spider-Man: Brand New Day, why she was not written into the $2 billion sequel, and how she feels about her time in the MCU. For anyone tracking Spider-Man: Brand New Day and its returning faces, this is the clearest word yet on one notable absence.
Where is Betty Brant in Spider-Man Brand New Day?
Rice did not pretend to have inside knowledge. Asked directly where Betty is in the film, she laughed and said “I don’t know!” before offering her own headcanon, guessing that Betty is “probably practicing ethical journalism, and doing it in style.” It is a fitting answer for a character who spent the previous trilogy running the school news desk and clearly has a future at a real newsroom.
On the more serious question of why the character sat out entirely, Rice was candid: “I don’t think it was ever part of the story.” She framed it as a natural consequence of where Peter Parker is now, noting that audiences “watch his character grow from high school, and he’s not in high school anymore. It’s a new era.” Brand New Day deliberately moves Peter past his classmate ensemble, and Betty, a high school fixture, simply did not fit the new chapter.
How Angourie Rice feels about leaving the MCU
Rather than express bitterness, Rice spoke warmly about her run in the franchise. She said she felt “very special that I was part of that for five or six years,” reflecting on a stretch that ran from Spider-Man: Homecoming through the Tom Holland trilogy. The interview came as she promotes her new project, Finding Emily, and she was not asked back for the fourth film because the role was not written into the script, not because of any behind-the-scenes friction.
Her comments quietly underline a theme running through Brand New Day: this is a soft reset. The film has leaned into a more grown-up, street-level Peter Parker, bringing in Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and a harder edge while retiring much of the teen supporting cast. Betty’s absence is one piece of that larger pivot.
What Betty Brant’s absence tells us about Brand New Day
Betty is not the only familiar name missing from the new era, and Rice’s framing helps explain the pattern. Brand New Day is built to graduate Peter out of his high school world, which means several trilogy characters were always going to be left behind as the franchise ages up its hero. That creative choice has clearly paid off commercially, with the film crossing $2 billion worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing release of 2026. For the full picture of that run, see our Spider-Man: Brand New Day box office coverage, and our breakdown of the film’s trailer and biggest changes.
What happens next
Rice’s door is not necessarily closed forever. The MCU has a long history of bringing back supporting players when the story calls for them, and a version of Betty working at a real news outlet, perhaps the Daily Bugle, would be an easy reintroduction down the line. For now, though, the answer is simple: Betty Brant is not in Spider-Man: Brand New Day because the new era left high school behind. We will update this post if Marvel or Rice signals any future return.
Sources: Collider, The Direct. Image: Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures (Spider-Man: Brand New Day).
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