Angourie Rice Explains Why Betty Brant Is Missing From Spider-Man: Brand New Day

During an appearance on Collider Ladies Night, Rice was asked whether returning as Betty had ever been discussed for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Apparently not.

Rice said she didn't think Betty fit into the story being told this time around.

And when you look at where Peter Parker's life has gone since No Way Home, she can understand why.

Peter is no longer the teenager navigating Midtown High while secretly spending his spare time swinging across New York.

That part of his life is over.

For Rice, leaving some of those school characters behind helps reinforce that Peter has entered a completely different stage of his life.

It's a "new era" for the character.

Given the movie's title, that's probably rather fitting.

Betty might not appear in Brand New Day, but Rice hasn't completely forgotten about her.

Asked where she imagines the character ended up, the actress had a wonderfully Betty Brant answer.

Rice said she likes to imagine Betty is somewhere practising ethical journalism, doing it with style and working on something worthwhile.

We'd happily accept that as unofficial canon.

The MCU version of Betty was already heading towards journalism during her earlier appearances, eventually becoming associated with The Daily Bugle.

So the idea that she's somewhere building a proper career while Peter deals with another round of superhero chaos actually makes a lot of sense.

And considering the state of journalism under J. Jonah Jameson, perhaps Betty practising the ethical variety is exactly what the Bugle needs.

Rice first appeared as Betty in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Her role expanded considerably in Spider-Man: Far From Home, particularly through Betty's hilariously short-lived romance with Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds during their European school trip.

She returned again in No Way Home, although her role was much smaller.

Those movies surrounded Peter with a recognisable group of classmates who helped make the MCU's version of Spider-Man feel different from the versions played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

But No Way Home deliberately destroyed that comfortable world.

Doctor Strange's final spell made everyone forget Peter Parker existed, leaving him to start over with no family and without the friendships that defined his teenage years.

Brand New Day has taken that idea seriously.

Rice's explanation gets to something important about this stage of Tom Holland's Spider-Man.

Peter has grown up.

The MCU introduced him as an enthusiastic teenager desperate to prove himself alongside the Avengers.

Now he's living with the consequences of everything that happened afterwards.

That inevitably means some characters from those early movies won't follow him forever.

Betty belonged heavily to Peter's Midtown High period.

And while we'd never rule out seeing her again — especially given Betty Brant's importance throughout Spider-Man comic history — bringing every old classmate back would undermine the idea that Peter has genuinely moved into another chapter.

Sometimes moving forward means leaving people behind.

Even if fans miss them.

Rice also learned that some fans were disappointed not to see Betty return.

That's understandable.

She may never have been a central character in Holland's trilogy, but Betty became part of those movies' personality.

Her school-news broadcasts, awkward relationship with Ned and increasingly journalistic ambitions made her memorable despite relatively limited screen time.

There's also considerably more that could eventually be done with Betty.

In Marvel Comics, Elizabeth Brant has a much longer history with Peter Parker and The Daily Bugle than the MCU movies have explored so far.

So Brand New Day doesn't necessarily have to represent the end of Rice's time with Spider-Man.

For now, though, Betty simply belongs to a different part of Peter's life.

Would we have enjoyed seeing Angourie Rice return?

Absolutely.

Betty was one of those supporting characters who gave the first three Tom Holland movies some of their charm.

But we're also glad Brand New Day didn't simply recreate Peter's old school gang.

The ending of No Way Home was supposed to matter.

Peter sacrificed the life he'd built, and everybody he cared about forgot who he was.

If the next movie had immediately surrounded him with all the same people again, some of that sacrifice would have disappeared.

Rice's explanation therefore makes perfect sense.

This isn't necessarily Marvel saying Betty Brant can never return.

It's Peter Parker growing beyond the world where we originally met her.

And somewhere in the MCU, we'd like to think Betty is doing exactly what Rice imagined.

Practising ethical journalism.

Probably while J. Jonah Jameson is screaming in the room next door.