Spider-Man: Brand New Day is officially abandoning Mark Ruffalo's usual Hulk appearance. MCU veteran Ruffalo is returning as Bruce Banner and the Hulk for Brand New Day on Friday, July 31. His long-awaited comeback lands four years after Hulk's last supporting appearance in Disney+'s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, where he helped usher in his super-powered cousin. This time around, Marvel Studios is finally ending the Smart Hulk era and is allowing Hulk to return to his savage roots to fight Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
An early peek at The Art of Spider-Man: Brand New Day revealed some interesting details about Mark Ruffalo's return as the Hulk, including some designs for a Gray Hulk that were ultimately scrapped. Notably, the art book confirms that the redesigned Hulk's limited resemblance to Ruffalo was completely by design, as Marvel Studios sought to make the green Avenger look more "monstrous."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's trailers have revealed that the Hulk will be unleashed upon the web-slinger and New York City. It appears that Hulk will once again come under the influence of mind-control, seemingly from Sadie Sink's character, rumored to be Jean Grey, leading to his epic lash out.
That's not to say that Ruffalo's face will be absent in his MCU comeback, as the raging Avenger will also return in his Bruce Banner form, this time in his new job as a college professor at Empire State University. Those who tuned in for Disney+'s She-Hulk will recall that Banner has a new way of staying human in the MCU.
This marks a major pivot from Smart Hulk, who has closely resembled Ruffalo infused with some gamma greenness since he debuted in Avengers: Endgame. While fans are clamoring for the Savage Hulk's return, Brand New Day will first spend some more time with his intellectual form before the monster is unleashed.
In the way that Smart Hulk eventually developed the technology to blend his human and gamma side, his cousin, Tatiana Maslany's Jennifer Walters, was able to do so from the get-go in her Disney+ show, maintaining the actress' look.
The fact that Smart Hulk and She-Hulk look most similar to their actors is likely due to the control Banner and Walters exert over their forms. Looking closely at Brand New Day's Savage Hulk, there's no denying that almost all the Ruffalo is gone as the seemingly mind-controlled Avenger goes into an all-out attack on Spidey.
Is Savage Hulk Here to Stay in the MCU?
Fans have spent seven years clamoring for Savage Hulk to return to the MCU, as his brainy persona has been controversial ever since Avengers: Endgame. The question now is whether Marvel Studios is committed to bringing back the rageful nature audiences expect from the Hulk for the long haul, or if Spider-Man: Brand New Day is simply offering up one blast from the past.
Marvel Studios will be aware of how eager audiences have been to reconvene with Savage Hulk, meaning that Brand New Day may conclude the Smart Hulk era, hopefully for the long haul. The MCU could justify such a change through Sadie Sink's Jean Grey and her meddling in the Hulk's head, explaining that it has somehow strained the relationship between Banner and his rageful alter ego.
If Savage Huk is here to stay in the MCU, many will be wondering when he will be seen again after Brand New Day. Given that Ruffalo played a major role in all four of the Infinity Saga's Avengers blockbusters, it seems logical that he will be back for either December's Doomsday or next year's Secret Wars.
While the MCU has another CGI genius superhero filling in for Hulk in Doomsday, the jury is still out on whether Banner will be back for Secret Wars. It was likely scheduling conflicts with Brand New Day that kept Ruffalo out of Avengers 5, and there is a risk that history repeats itself with next year's climactic follow-up.
Ruffalo only recently started shooting HBO's Task Season 2, which could keep him busy for most of the year, while Marvel Studios is reportedly hoping to start shooting Secret Wars later this summer. The busy actor could join the MCU production later on, or even shoot his role in reshoots, but regardless, Ruffalo seems likely to make his return in Secret Wars, even if it is only a minor role.
There has been a lot of talk about the MCU getting a soft reboot in Phase 7, although there are no signs that recasts are near for any major heroes. As such, Hulk's future seems safe into the mutant-centric next saga, opening the doors to his return in the inevitable Avengers 7, possibly joined by his cousin, She-Hulk.
