Marvel StudiosMark Ruffalo will return as Bruce Banner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That isn’t a spoiler – however, new toy leaks may indicate what will happen to the Hulk.
The MCU has been widely criticized for its portrayal of the Hulk. After initial praise in The Avengers and Age of Ultron, the franchise hasn’t shown him in full-on rage mode since 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.
He hasn’t been the same since Thanos’ beat-down in the opening scene of Avengers: Infinity War, even transforming into ‘Smart Hulk’ off-screen in Endgame.
The consensus among fans is clear: they want to see Hulk smash things again, and if things go to plan, Spider-Man: Brand New Day could give them what they want.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day may unleash Savage Hulk
Marvel StudiosAccording to Displaying Model Behavior, a YouTuber who specializes in action figure reviews, Hasbro’s 2026 Marvel Legends lineup includes Spider-Man, a new Punisher figure, and the Hulk.
That’s to be expected, but he also noted that it’ll “apparently [be] a savage version of the Jade Giant.”
Ever since Ruffalo’s return was reported in early rumors, it’s been speculated that something will cause Banner to lose his cool, leading to a fight with Spider-Man (and perhaps the Punisher too).
“Please let this be true, we need the Savage Hulk back, no more of that Smart Hulk anymore,” one user wrote. “Look, I never hated Smart Hulk in the projects I watched that featured him, but YEAH BABY WE WANTED THIS,” another posted.
“I feel like my theory comes closer and closer to reality. Smart Hulk is gonna get impacted by something that causes months of anger,” a third tweeted.
That’s the question: if it does happen, what will spark his rage again? It had been theorized that Mr Negative would be responsible, but multiple insiders (including The Cosmic Circus’ Alex Perez) say he doesn’t appear in the film.
We still don’t know who the main villain is in Brand New Day, either. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that “Spider-Man, Punisher and Hulk will all fight one another before figuring out who the real bad guys are,” so hopefully we’ll find out more details in the coming months.
Also, there’s the small matter of Sadie Sink’s mysterious role and how the movie will tee up Avengers: Doomsday.
