WWE superstarSeth Rollinswas initially set to appear inCaptain America: Brave New Worldas a mysterious villain, but reshoots have not just reduced his role but completely cut him out of the movie.Captain America: Brave New Worldis the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film of 2025 and has one of the most troubled productions in the franchise’s history. Despite some strong trailers and the excitement around Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk, the movie has been plagued with behind-the-scenes rumors of a troubled film that has undergone many delays to accommodate rewrites and reshoots.
Seth Rollins seemed to be a victim of these reshoots, as the WWE star revealed on theInsight with Chris Van Vlietpodcast that he was no longer in the film. Rollins was pretty clear, saying,“I wish it the best, but I am not a part of that film. I’m not in the movie. I will say unequivocally I’m not in the film. I do not want anybody to go to the film thinking, ‘I’m here to see Seth Rollins.’ There might be two people that would do that, but I don’t want those two people to waste their time. I don’t want to misinform anybody. I don’t want to lead anybody astray. I am not in the film.”
Rollins continued, detailing that his role was cut following the many rewrites the movie underwent. While he did audition for possibly another role in the film or even another MCU project, it appears the film went in a different direction. Rollins said:
“Does my NDA still apply if I’m not in the film anymore? Truth be told, any answer I gave would only be my opinion on it. The script went through a lot of rewrites and reshoots so what I was there to do, essentially, my role got either repurposed or completely erased. So I did do a bit of an audition to possibly pop into another role, I believe, or the repurposing of my role, I’m not exactly sure on what it was, but they ended up going in a different direction with it. My understanding was there were just a lot of rewrites and a lot of reshoots, and they know they’ve got a finished product that hopefully they’re happy with, and hopefully it’s successful, but it will be sans Seth Rollins.”
Rollins is believed to be a member of The Serpent Society, with a rumor suggesting he would be theorganization’s leader, King Cobra. Rosa Salazar has recently been confirmed to play the Serpent Society member Diamondback, though her role is likely reduced. Many suspected The Serpent Society would be cut from the movie entirely, but the reshoots forCaptain America: Brave New Worldinstead added Giancarlo Esposito as Serpent Society member Sidewinder. There is a good chance that Sidewinder has now taken the role initially meant for Rollins' King Cobra, sinceEsposito joined the cast during the reshootsand has been prominently featured in the film’s marketing ever since.
The State of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’
Captain America: Brave New Worldhas had a troubled road to the big screen. The movie was originally set to open in theaters on July 29, 2025, but was pushed back to July 20, 2025. That date would later be given toDeadpool & Wolverine, the only MCU film of 2024, asCaptain America: Brave New Worldwas pushed back to the August 08, 2025, release date.Captain America: Brave New Worldfinished filming in June 2023 butunderwent multiple reshoots, one round in summer 2024 and some very recently in November 2024, explaining why, despite having wrapped production sooner thanDeadpool & Wolverine, it is being released so many months later.
Bringing Back Chris Evans Is a Disservice to Sam Wilson’s Captain America
The return of Chris Evans to the MCU seems like it takes away attention from Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson just before his film is set to come out.
Rollins being cut fromCaptain America: Brave New Worldis disappointing but not unheard of. Because the MCU is constantly adapting and changing, many high-profile actors have filmed scenes for MCU projects that have been cut. Jeff Goldblum and Peter Dinklage reprised their roles as The Grandmaster and Eitri inThor: Love and ThunderalongsideLena Heady in an unknown role before she was cut from the finished film. Katherine Langford was set to play an adult version of Tony Stark’s daughter, Morgan Stark, inAvengers: Endgamebefore the role was cut,as the test audiences found the cameo confusing. Given the nature of The Serpent Society as an organization, it is always possible Rollins could still play King Cobra in another MCU project further down the line.
Captain America: Brave New World
