How Rosario Dawson Feels About Being Cut From Spider-Man: Brand New Day

This post contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is the triumph the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed. Not only has Tom Holland's latest Spidey outing broken box office records, audiences are absolutely delighted to have been gifted a Spider-Man film that actually focuses on the title character for a change. That's especially impressive given the fact the movie features several cameos from across the MCU. But "Brand New Day" almost featured an entirely different Marvel/Netflix crossover, as Rosario Dawson filmed a scene as Claire Temple, the kind-hearted nurse from the Marvel Netflix shows, that was ultimately cut. Now, the actor has spoken out about how she felt after learning her "Brand New Day" scene had been excised from the final film.

As reported by The Wrap, Dawson spoke at GalaxyCon Raleigh 2026 and revealed her "Brand New Day" scene had been scrapped, which reportedly elicited "disappointed groans" from the audience. They couldn't have been as disappointed as Dawson herself, though. The actor talked about how her uncle Gustavo "Gus" Vazquez was a comic book artist with whom she shared a love for Spider-Man. "I told my mom [about the scene being cut], and she was like, 'That sucks. Now I can't post the pictures,'" recalled Dawson. "And I was like, 'Right, mom, me being cut out of the movie that has like the largest viewership of a trailer ever, the issue is you can't post your BTS photos.'" 

Indeed, the "Brand New Day" trailer made Hollywood history when it surpassed a billion watches. "When I tell you my [social media] post was already ready with my BTS," she continued, "with like my grandson wearing all his Spider-Man stuff because he loves Spider-Man — then I got the email done. So, yeah. I'm a reject of Spider-Man."

Rosario Dawson played Claire Temple in the Netflix Marvel shows, patching up all the "street-level" heroes like Charlie Cox's Daredevil, Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, Mike Colter's Luke Cage, and Finn Jones' Iron Fist (known collectively as The Defenders). The only Netflix show in which Dawson's Temple didn't appear was "The Punisher." Oddly enough, Jon Bernthal's savage vigilante is one of the main cameos in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," where it's revealed that Spidey and Punisher share some mysterious history relating to Staten Island.

As such, having Temple show up would have been a nice way to finally bring her and Frank Castle/Punisher together. But beyond that, it would have been a way to get around one of the more awkward plot points in the movie. When Tom Holland's hero is accidentally shot by Punisher during the film's climax, he's taken to a hospital, creating some confusion over how the doctors were able to treat him without removing his mask. Had Temple been there to put her experience of working with super-powered vigilantes into practice, she could have been the one who demanded Spidey's mask stay on and his identity remain hidden.

Beyond that, you can't really blame Dawson for being disappointed. Not only is "Brand New Day" easily the biggest movie of 2026 so far in terms of box office receipts, it's on track to become one of the 10 biggest movies of all-time worldwide. What's more, it's been met with praise from both audiences and critics. Missing out on being part of such a momentous cultural event must have stung. At least we know Marvel Studios is open to bringing back more characters from the Netflix shows, so, hopefully, Dawson will have her day soon.