Spider-Man largely works alone on the pages of Marvel Comics, but the Spidey of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe rarely gets far without an older mentor beside him. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has worked alongside Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and more experienced Spider-Man variants. Marvel seemed to finally do away with that dynamic at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home by sending Peter off on his own, but his fourth outing — Brand New Day — is proving that old habits truly are hard to break.
Directed by Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will host a full roster of Marvel heroes. The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) is making the jump from the small screen to star alongside Spidey, and he won’t be the only one joining Peter’s next adventure. The Scorpion, a small-time criminal played by Michael Mando in Homecoming, is coming back, and Brand New Day also marks the return of Mark Ruffalo’s Incredible Hulk.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Ruffalo is currently in talks to reprise his role as Bruce Banner in Brand New Day. This will mark the actor’s 10th appearance in the MCU, and his first Marvel film since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. He proved to be a so-so mentor in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, his last Marvel outing, but Brand New Day may have a different role in mind. After reconciling the two halves of his psyche into “Smart Hulk,” which combined the brains of Banner with the Hulk’s brawn, Brand New Day might reverse that development and reintroduce Hulk at his most savage.
Plot details are still scarce, but fans have deduced a few potential story details all the same. Cinematographer Brett Pawlak’s public moodboard for Brand New Day featured an image of Spider-Man battling Hulk in his original form, leading to theories that Banner would somehow lose control over his body again. Industry leaker Daniel Richtman also claimed that “Savage Hulk” would be one of Brand New Day’s main antagonists, and with Ruffalo officially joining the cast, that theory is even closer to fruition.
There’s a precedent for a clash between Spider-Man and the Hulk, as the heroes have traded blows here and there in the comics. Still, that doesn’t mean the Hulk will be the film’s main villain. So little is known about Brand New Day, and that mystery will probably persist, but there’s a sense of a deeper plot — and a bigger antagonist — down the line. Whatever happens, hopefully Peter can appeal to Banner’s humanity and win him over to Team Spidey.
