The Serpent Society was originally set to play a bigger role in Captain America: Brave New World, but reshoots drastically altered their presence. While Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder remains the group’s leader, the final cut of the film scrapped several previously planned members including WWE superstar Seth Rollins.
During an interview on the Phase Hero podcast (via ThatHashtagShow), director Julius Onah confirmed that the creative team refined the group to fit the film’s tone. The decision resulted in a more grounded version of the Serpent Society, placing Esposito’s Sidewinder as the only recognizable figure. Onah also clarified Rollins’ role, stating:
He was not the guy in the church. Obviously, there’s a rogues gallery with Serpent Society and we were looking at what is the version of Serpent Society that feels the most grounded within the tone and the style and the texture of this film. With Giancarlo, Sidewinder just felt great as a leader of Serpent Society, to introduce them for the first time, but Seth was not Copperhead, no.
While Onah denied that Rollins was set to play Copperhead, speculation remains that his character bore a striking resemblance to King Cobra. Early set leaks showed Rollins sporting a comic-accurate, snake-themed costume before reshoots ultimately stripped away those elements to align with the film’s Winter Soldier-inspired realism. Though Rollins’ Marvel debut was cut short, there’s still hope he could return to the MCU in the future.
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Another Big Cut: Rosa Salazar’s Diamondback
One of the most surprising omissions was Alita: Battle Angel star Rosa Salazar, who was initially set to portray Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback. Unlike Rollins, Salazar was present during the film’s reshoots last summer, with set images showing her in a punk-inspired, comic-accurate look. Despite this, she was ultimately removed from the final version.
Her removal was so last-minute that McDonald’s even produced promotional toys featuring Diamondback in a detailed super-suit. This has left fans questioning why the Serpent Society was included in the first place if the goal was to keep the film’s tone more grounded.
Though Brave New World ultimately took a different creative direction, the absence of these characters remains a topic of discussion especially considering the time and resources spent filming them.
Source: Movieweb