Another Avenger is swinging into Spider-Man: Brand New Day — and it’s not who you’d expect. Mark Ruffalo will reprise his role as Bruce Banner in the upcoming MCU film, marking a big green return to the big screen and a major addition to the fourth installment of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man series. Although Marvel hasn’t confirmed what exactly Banner will be doing in the story, it’s expected that whatever Hulk he’s portraying in the film won’t be restricted to just a cameo, but rather Bruce Banner will play a key part in the story alongside Holland‘s Peter Parker. We’re hoping for some kind of science bros storyline, or maybe a mentorship somewhat in the vein of Peter and Otto Octavius from Sam Raimi‘s trilogy. The news was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, even though the casting was initially reported all the way back in January by Hot Mic host John Rocha.
It’s now become a standard for major Marvel Cinematic Universe stars to appear in Holland‘s Spider-Man movies, starting with Robert Downey Jr. in Spider-Man: Homecoming, then Samuel L. Jackson in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and finally Benedict Cumberbatch in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It seems to be a fair trade-off — Marvel gets the use of Spider-Man, the most popular Marvel character, and Sony gets an A-lister who will bring more eyes to their movie. We, the audience, win!
This appearance will mark Ruffalo’s tenth mainline MCU project, adding to a resume that already includes The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. After Brand New Day, the actor may or may not appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars — he never got a chair after all, but surely he’ll turn up — making Banner one of the longest-running Avengers in the franchise.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will see Holland return as Peter Parker, while Zendaya and Jacob Batalon will reportedly appear in smaller roles. Sadie Sink and Liza Colon-Zayas have joined the cast in undisclosed parts.
Where Is The Hulk in The Marvel Cinematic Universe?
When we last saw Banner in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he was helping his cousin Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) manage her new gamma-irradiated powers after a freak car accident mingled their blood. Banner — still in his Professor Hulk form — trained Jen while seemingly mastering his own ability to shift between personalities. We also found out via the series finale of that show that Banner now has a son named Skaar, born on Sakaar, which was the main location for Thor: Ragnarok. We also did not see him in Captain America: Brave New World, despite Ruffalo‘s comments.
The film is now in production in Glasgow, Scotland. Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.
via Collider