Spider-Man Brand New Day's deleted scenes: here's the complete list (and it's a lot)

Spider-Man swings back into the headlines this year with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is now officially the highest-grossing movie of 2026 and, not too shabby, the 10th-biggest earner in film history as of Monday, 10 August 2026. That alone is enough to get Marvel’s shareholders buying the next round, but for fans, the real story is what’s in—and what was left out—of Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing: a two-hour, 25-minute juggernaut that ties up leftover bits from No Way Home, slips in appearances from the Hulk, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, and even a major X-Men character, plus a Thunderbolts cameo for dessert. But, as always with Marvel, quite a bit got chopped out before release.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day became the 10th-highest-grossing film ever worldwide in just under six weeks.

Now, if you’re the type who likes poking around in what-might-have-beens, here’s your rundown of scenes and ideas that hit the bin before making it to the big screen.

The cut scenes (and mutants)

• School vaccination gone wrong: Remember the marketing bit where Spidey rocks up to a school, volunteers for a jab, and the needle snaps on his skin? That wasn’t just for laughs in the adverts—it’s a deleted scene. Apparently, Spider-Man tries to calm some nervous kids about injections, only to have the needle break, which surprises even him. A student then teases him about ‘spider puberty’. Spidey bails from the class, telling kids to eat their vegetables (throwback to Spider-Man 2, in case you missed it). This was likely meant to be the first hint that Peter’s biology is changing, pre-‘web cocoon’ sequence.
• Punisher vs the police: There’s always been the question—how does Bernthal’s Punisher just stroll into New York hospitals or federal agencies without SWAT trying to dogpile him? Turns out, a scene where a copper tries to actually stop the Punisher in hospital was shot but cut for the sake of keeping things moving. As it stands, the assumption now is that some coppers respect him, others are absolutely terrified after his Daredevil: Born Again antics.
• Claire Temple was nearly in it: Rosario Dawson did indeed film new scenes as Claire Temple/Night Nurse. Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers told The Wrap her bit came after Spidey’s bust-up with Scorpion, but the moment hit the editing floor due to pacing—otherwise, Peter would’ve been running into too many Marvel faces in a row, especially with Bruce Banner popping up in the next scene.
• Villain team-up that wasn’t: The film opens with a blink-and-you-miss-it montage of Spider-Man scrapping with comic book villains like Scorpion, Tombstone, Ramrod (played by Billy Clements), Boomerang, and Tarantula. Word is, some of these villains were meant to feature more. Clements himself let slip that extra Ramrod scenes never made it out of post. Director Destin Daniel Cretton considered a full Sinister Six-style showdown at the start, but that particular fight was never even filmed.
• Even more obscure villains axed: As if that wasn’t enough of a rogue’s gallery, there were whispers about a cameo from 8-Ball (from 1991’s Sleepwalker comics), though nothing concrete’s ever surfaced—no concept art, not a peep from cast or crew. Paste Pot Pete (yes, that is a real Marvel villain, look it up) was at one point on the table for the opening, but Cretton eventually passed. Maybe next time.

How Jean Grey really got in

The biggest jolt in Brand New Day comes when Sadie Sink pops up as Jean Grey—a stealth launch for the new X-Men. But, and this is a bit of a surprise, that was the filmmakers’ call all along, rather than some coordinated Marvel Studios X-Men multiplier scheme. There was originally a completely different villain in the mix—possibly Mindworm, a very minor telepath and fellow mutant from the Spider-Man comics (you’d be forgiven for not recognising the name). Jean Grey eventually replaced the obscure baddie after the team decided it was, frankly, just not all that interesting. Here’s Kevin Feige, speaking about the villain shuffle:

‘There was one version of the bad guy, then another version of the bad guy, then a version, essentially, of this bad guy that was revealed to be a very obscure character nobody had ever heard of. It just wasn’t satisfying.’

If you’re wondering, Mindworm’s comic persona does overlap with the film’s Jean Grey: in both, the whole body-hopping mind control thing is present and accounted for. Still, you can see why Marvel went the Jean Grey route instead—using an A-lister trumps D-list intrigue every time.

The villain that might have been

The villain shuffle didn’t stop there. The actual main villain in Brand New Day is Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), director of Damage Control and, in a deep-dive comic pull, a little-known X-Men baddie who cropped up in a single limited series back in 1999. Before settling on Metzger, Marvel apparently toyed with using the Leper Queen, a mutant-hater who first turned up in 2006’s House of M: The Day After. The Leper Queen has a grim backstory: her unborn child mutated, developed pyrokinetic powers, accidentally burned down her home as a toddler, and died; she’s been on a bloody mutant vendetta ever since.

Marvel tried to bring her to life with some serious talent. Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Snook, and Carrie Coon were all offered the part, but all gave it a pass. The Queen’s role was tossed, reworked, and ultimately cast as Bill Metzger instead. Trivia note: Hathaway actually worked alongside Brand New Day’s Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal in The Odyssey previously, and was even supposed to play Felicia Hardy in Raimi’s abandoned Spider-Man 4. Carrie Coon, of course, had her own Marvel run-in as Proxima Midnight, but reportedly walked when they tried to short-change her on pay after Infinity War—hence her absence in Endgame.