Rumors about Hulk’s return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day have been circulating for months, but a fresh leak from a new toy has revealed more about how Bruce Banner will lose control of his transformation.
Mark Ruffalo’s return as Banner was confirmed in the film’s record-breaking first trailer, though Marvel has not yet officially stated whether the Hulk will make an appearance. Earlier toy leaks had already suggested the green giant would return, but the latest Bandai SH Figuarts action figure offers new details on why Banner’s alter ego will emerge once again.
Warning! Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day follow:
“In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Bruce Banner uses an inhibitor that keeps him in human form since the events of Endgame,” the action figure’s description reads. “But this constraint has its limits: the film marks the return of the Hulk in his feral form, a departure from the Smart Hulk of previous films.”
The description provides new context for Banner’s transformation arc, linking it to what audiences have already seen in the MCU. After appearing as Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, Banner later returned in human form at the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, wearing an inhibitor device on his arm to suppress his Hulk side.
Hulk reappeared again in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law after Banner’s inhibitor was damaged early in the series. Throughout the show, Banner remained in Smart Hulk form, even revealing his long-lost son Skaar in the finale. Now, the upcoming film suggests Banner has rebuilt his inhibitor, but this time, when it fails, he does not just revert to Smart Hulk. Instead, he transforms into a far wilder and more aggressive version of himself.
“Banner and Peter Parker, both grappling with an uncontrollable transformation, find themselves in a narrative parallel at the heart of the film,” the toy’s description concludes.
This parallel also hints at a major change coming for Peter Parker, raising questions about whether he will develop multiple limbs like the Man-Spider or if the Venom symbiote, teased in the post-credits scene of No Way Home, could play a role.
Marvel’s official synopsis for Spider-Man: Brand New Day describes a darker turn for Peter Parker. “Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves,” it states. “Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he’s devoted himself entirely to protecting his city as a full-time Spider-Man, but as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced.”
The film is scheduled to release on July 31 and will feature Tom Holland as Peter Parker, Zendaya as MJ, Sadie Sink in an undisclosed role, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, Tramell Tillman as Department of Damage Control director Bill Metzger, Michael Mando as Scorpion, and Mark Ruffalo as both Bruce Banner and the Hulk.
