Spider-Man: No Way Home juggles a lot of different characters, and that means a few fan-favourites were sidelined. While we spent a little time in Peter Parker's high school after his identity is revealed, teachers and pupils alike were sidelined despite being such a big part of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Angourie Rice's Betty Brant only has one scene in the threequel, which comes quite close to the start of the movie when she's doing a news report for Midtown High about Peter's return to school. While finding a way to include the character was welcomed, it's still a shame the talented Mare of Easttown star wasn't given a little more to do. Unfortunately, it seems there was simply no room for her character.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Rice opened up on learning of her reduced role in the threequel.
"[The] pandemic disrupted a lot of things and has affected everything in the world. And it also affected the preproduction of Spider-Man and all movies that were being made, post-2020. So it was that thing of, 'We want Betty to be in it,' and I wanted to be in it, of course," the actress explained. "It’s been a huge part of my life, and I really wanted to be a part of it. So they were like, 'We want you to be a part of it, too,' but obviously, it’s hard with travel."
"And, of course, with the story focusing on Peter’s bigger-scale journey, they tackle a lot of big existential questions about what it means to be a hero. So it was really fun to come in, do my bit and work with people who I know and like working with," Rice continued. "And then to see it on the big screen, it’s this huge emotional, dramatic blockbuster."
Even though she only had a minor role in No Way Home, Rice was enlisted to shoot a series of TikToks revealing that Betty was interning at The Daily Bugle for J. Jonah Jameson. Asked if those were shot at the same time as her appearance in the movie itself, she explained: "They were done a bit later. They were done remotely in Australia."
The trade didn't ask too much about what could come next for Betty, but suggested her time at the Bugle might not last that long considering she often defends Spidey in those videos. "[Laughs] Listen, I don’t know how it’s going to work. I just watch the things afterwards and go, 'Oh, that’s cool! They edited it all together. I love it!'"
In the comic books, Peter does become romantically linked to Betty when they both start working at The Daily Bugle, and the hero later finds himself in a love triangle with Ned Leeds. That could be fun to explore in Spider-Man 4, especially after the way things wrap up for the hero in No Way Home.