Spider-Man: Brand New Day has become an interesting mystery box. We know what Peter Parker / Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) new suit will look like, thanks to a teaser video and a bunch of photos from the set. We also know some of the supporting cast that will surround him… but it sounds like one character’s involvement just got more complicated.
Earlier this summer, rumors began to swirl around Mark Ruffalo reprising his Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Bruce Banner / Hulk in Brand New Day, which trade publications began to officially confirm around August. But in a series of recent interviews, Ruffalo played it incredibly coy about whether or not he’s in the film at all. To Entertainment Tonight, he said, “I don’t know, I’m still waiting to hear. I haven’t read a script yet… If it does happen, it would be incredible.”
To The Hollywood Reporter, he referred to his involvement in Brand New Day as a “rumor,” revealing that he has yet to read a script, but that he’s excited to possibly work alongside Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle / The Punisher.
“If I’m doing that — which the rumors are that I am, once I get a script, I’ll know it’s real — but I love him and we have a common friend in Lena Dunham, believe it or not, who just adores him…” Ruffalo revealed, before adding, “I can’t wait to work with him, he’s so funny and he’s such a great actor. He plays that character like nobody else. I’m really excited to meet him, I’ve never met him!”
Don’t spoil the ‘Brand New Day’?
Since Ruffalo’s comments first surfaced online, the reaction from fans has been… varied. Some have just delighted in the fact that he used the word “incredible” to Entertainment Tonight, given his character’s decades-long tenure of being called “The Incredible Hulk.” But others have been a little baffled by Ruffalo’s ambiguity about whether or not he’s in the film at all, especially when Brand New Day is already a month into filming. Given some of the recent quotes around fellow MCU film Avengers: Doomsday, with Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige admitting that things are still being added to the script during production, Ruffalo’s comments could be interpreted as an indication of the status of Brand New Day‘s script.
But there’s also a chance that Ruffalo is being intentionally vague about his role in Brand New Day, after a lengthy history of him revealing spoilers for MCU titles. Keep in mind, this is the man who once accidentally live-streamed the audio of the first ten minutes of Thor: Ragnarok from his pocket, after he forgot to turn his phone off during the movie’s world premiere. Pretty soon after, Ruffalo cracked a joke about how “half of everyone” dies in Avengers: Infinity War… something that proved to be true, even though we were months away from seeing the movie and knowing it as fact.
Maybe Ruffalo is dancing around the Brand New Day questions to keep the element of surprise, just so the eventual reveal of Banner or Hulk in the first trailer can break the Internet even more. After all, that worked for Andrew Garfield the last time around.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently set to be released exclusively in theaters on July 31, 2026.
(featured image: Sony Pictures Releasing)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
