Marvel Star Reveals Multiple Actors Cut After ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Release

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) has officially swung into theaters, and Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are riding what could be one of the biggest box office weekends of the year. Tom Holland’s return as Peter Parker has been building steam for months, thanks to a marketing rollout that’s kept fans guessing right up until release — especially when it comes to one specific casting secret nobody could crack.

With projections pointing toward a jaw-dropping $425+ million opening weekend, Brand New Day is shaping up to be a massive theatrical event, and audiences are only now getting answers to the questions that have dominated fan theories since casting news first broke.

Ever since Sadie Sink’s casting was announced, the internet has been in overdrive trying to figure out who she’s actually playing. Is she Jean Grey, finally bringing the X-Men into the MCU fold? Rachel Summers? A Multiverse variant of Mary Jane Watson? Some other mutant entirely? Or maybe an established Spider-Man character with history tied to Peter?

Sink, best known for playing Max Mayfield in Stranger Things, makes her MCU debut in Brand New Day — and while we’re not spoiling it here, her role now locks her into the franchise for the long haul.

The cast list reads like a full MCU reunion. Zendaya is back as MJ Jones-Watson, and Jacob Batalon returns as Ned Leeds — both now college students at MIT. Jon Bernthal reprises Frank Castle, AKA the Punisher, while Florence Pugh returns as Yelena Belova. Tramell Tillman joins as Bill Metzger, head of the Department of Damage Control, and Michael Mando is back as Mac Gargan, the Scorpion. Mark Ruffalo also returns as Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Rounding out the cast: Marisa Tomei as May Parker, Marvin Jones III as Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone, Eman Esfandi as Harry, Liza Colón-Zayas as detective Jean DeWolff, Olivia Booth-Ford as Sara Grey, and Naomi Watts voicing Peter’s AI assistant, E.V. Tiffany Espensen shows up as Cindy Moon, while Tony Revolori and Martin Starr appear in photos as Flash Thompson and Roger Harrington.

One of the more fun stories to come out of the film’s release involves Billy Clements, who plays the villain Ramrod. Clements, who also appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), posted on Instagram about the experience, including a hint that some much bigger names ended up on the cutting room floor:

“Spiderman Brand New Day Playing ‘Ramrod’ out now! So amazing to play my another marvel comic book character! The Russian and Ramrod I love comics and to own a comic where your on the front cover to me is so so so cool. A lot of Ramrods stuff was cut, but when they had to cut out 3 hours and a lot more recognised actors were totally cut out so really happy to be there if only for a bit. Really wanted to do my best to represent the character as accurately to the studying in all Ramrods comic appearances so I trained 2 hours a day” (@billyclements_, Instagram)

So who got cut? Theories are already flying, from potential Daredevil: Born Again cameos to a bigger New Avengers presence that didn’t make the final edit.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Brand New Day picks up right after the gut-punch ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Peter Parker completely alone after Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) erased the world’s memory of his secret identity. Marvel is billing it as a true fresh start, with Peter working as a full-time, street-level hero in a city that no longer knows his face — all while facing a new villain the marketing has teased as someone “no one can even see.”

Beyond its own story, Brand New Day is a key bridge to Avengers: Doomsday (2026), which will bring together heroes from across the MCU as the Multiverse Saga barrels forward. Comparisons to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and No Way Home have been everywhere in industry chatter, with some predicting this could be one of the year’s biggest global openings — and potentially a billion-dollar earner.

What do you think of Sadie Sink’s mystery role, and who do you think got cut from the movie? Let us know in the comments.