Liza Colón-Zayas on Jean DeWolff in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Emmy-winning The Bear actor Liza Colón-Zayas discusses joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, working with Tom Holland and the rain-soaked scene that was cut from Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Jean DeWolff becomes Peter Parker’s closest connection

When Spider-Man: Brand New Day begins, Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, has spent years concentrating on life as Spider-Man. Following the events of No Way Home, his best friend Ned, played by Jacob Batalon, and MJ, played by Zendaya, no longer remember him. Aunt May, the woman who raised Peter, is also dead.

That makes Peter’s relaxed phone conversations with NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff unexpectedly significant. The film initially keeps her identity unclear, before introducing Colón-Zayas as a new character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

DeWolff does not know Peter’s secret identity, while Peter does not even know the names of her children. Their relationship is therefore not especially close, but their exchanges carry warmth and familiarity. Peter tells her that he has been suffering headaches, and when his powers begin to overwhelm him, DeWolff is the person who manages to calm him.

Although DeWolff appears in only a handful of scenes, many conducted over the phone, she is for much of the film the nearest thing Peter has to a friend. Colón-Zayas brings the same grounded quality associated with her performance as Tina Marrero in The Bear. DeWolff is an ordinary New Yorker, a detail that resonated with the Bronx-born actor.

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Why the role appealed to Colón-Zayas

Colón-Zayas says her connection to Spider-Man came less from her own New York background and more from her son, who is a devoted fan. She also admits that she did not know much about Marvel before taking the role.

Her first conversation with director Destin Daniel Cretton changed that. Rather than giving her a highly specific explanation, Cretton spoke with her over Zoom, where they chatted and laughed. His main instruction was simple: play herself, bringing the same qualities she brought to The Bear.

That invitation made an impression. Colón-Zayas had not imagined that someone who looked and sounded like her — a Bronx woman — would have a place in this world. She sees the casting as part of Marvel’s potential to better reflect the city in which the story takes place.

Once she officially joined the production, her son helped her prepare by buying a collection of comic books featuring Jean DeWolff.

A different take on a comic-book police detective

Reading the comics showed Colón-Zayas that DeWolff had originally been depicted very differently. In her earliest iteration, dating to the late 1970s, the character was blonde, angular and styled with a film-noir sensibility. Later versions evolved.

What Colón-Zayas recognised was DeWolff’s toughness and directness, as well as the effort required for her to reach a position of authority. That aspect of the character particularly appealed to her.

The comic version of DeWolff has developed feelings for Spider-Man, but Colón-Zayas is unsure whether the films will follow that storyline. She notes that Marvel’s movies do not always reproduce the comics exactly and says that direction could feel strange in this version.

Finding trust with Tom Holland

Colón-Zayas found the friendship between DeWolff and Peter easy to establish because Holland made the process comfortable. She describes him as a warm, welcoming and decent person who treats everyone that way, as well as an intelligent and highly capable actor.

That trust was especially useful during the scene in which Peter loses control. After he nearly injures a police officer and tears off Scorpion’s tail, DeWolff grabs his wrists and tells him he must regain control because she cannot protect him afterwards.

During filming, Cretton asked Holland to lower his hands. Holland joked that the adjustment was difficult because Colón-Zayas was so strong. She had not realised how firmly she was holding him, making the moment a memorable one for the actor.

The scene that disappeared in the rain

Only one scene featuring Colón-Zayas was removed from the finished film. It took place while Dr. Banner was being placed in an ambulance. In the sequence, Tramell Tillman’s character emerged in the rain, and DeWolff and Spider-Man shared a brief exchange just before Tillman approached Spider-Man.

The production used a rain machine, while natural rain was also falling that day. Colón-Zayas recalls becoming completely soaked, with water running so heavily that her eyelashes stuck together. She believes the footage could not be used because it made the rain look more like a waterfall, and admits she was somewhat relieved that the scene did not remain in the film.

Could Jean DeWolff return?

Colón-Zayas would like to play DeWolff again. She has read the comics and knows that the character’s future could develop in several directions, even if the films do not follow the source material precisely.

She says she enjoyed working with the cast and crew and would be happy to return, but has no information about what may happen next because the production keeps its plans highly secret.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas now.

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