The next MCU Phase 6 movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is just around the corner, and fans will get to see a character in the film who is going to replace the Lizard in terms of their role and dynamic with Peter Parker. Any other year, Spider-Man: Brand New Day would be the biggest release of the year, but 2026 is a bit of an outlier since Avengers: Doomsday (which could be the biggest film of all time) is coming out in December. Still, fans are more than excited to see a big screen solo outing (the first of Phase 6) about Tom Holland's webslinger for the first time since 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, and based on what has been revealed about the upcoming flick, it is going to be an important title.
A new action figure for Mark Ruffalo's Hulk was recently listed on a French toy website called France Figurines, and it came with a bit of a description for what the character's role will be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Fans have known for some time that Ruffalo would be in the Phase 6 film, and it has already been confirmed that he will be transforming into Savage Hulk at some point in the movie, but no one knew just what kind of character Bruce Banner would be, and how he would relate to Peter, especially since Banner does not know who Peter is, thanks to Doctor Strange's spell.
In the description for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day figure, it revealed that Bruce is going to use "an inhibitor that keeps him in human form." This inhibitor was previously revealed in the movie's first official trailer, and could be seen on Bruce's arm.
However, the description also revealed that, because Hulk will be returning "in his feral form," Bruce and Peter will "find themselves in a narrative parallel at the heart of the film." This part of the description is referring to Peter unknowingly blacking out and somewhat transforming into a human/spider hybrid (which is known as Man-Spider in the comics) in the film, and Bruce not being able to control turning into the fully enraged version of the Hulk.
The full description (which has been roughly translated from French) can be seen below:
"In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' Bruce Banner uses an inhibitor that keeps him in human form since the events of Endgame. 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. Banner and Peter Parker, both grappling with an uncontrollable transformation, find themselves in a narrative parallel at the heart of the film."
Notably, this description indicates that Ruffalo's Bruce Banner will take over the same role that Rhys Ifans' Curt Connors (aka the Lizard) had in The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In The Amazing Spider-Man, Dr. Connors served as a mentor to Peter Parker and was definitely not an evil person by any means. However, after he tested a formula on himself to see if it could make his missing arm grow back, it turned him into the Lizard. Being the Lizard also corrupted his mind, which then led to the Lizard becoming the primary antagonist of the movie as he tried to spread his formula across the city and turn everyone else into monsters.
This dynamic is similar to how Ruffalo's Hulk will operate in Brand New Day. Once Banner's inhibitor stops working, he will have no control over himself, changing into the Hulk, and Banner's mind will no longer control his body. Instead, it will simply be Hulk carrying out his actions. Now, Hulk won't be trying to spread a formula across New York City like Lizard was, but he will still be a danger to civilians and anyone else around him.
So, essentially, Marvel is replacing Curt Connors in the Spider-Man universe with Bruce Banner, as the two characters will have extremely similar character arcs once Brand New Day is released. They both will serve as mentors to Peter early on in their respective films, but will then unintentionally transform into a dangerous threat where they aren't in control of their actions.
Other MCU Characters Who Are Being Replaced in Phase 6's Next Movie
Eman Esfandi's Character/Brad Davis
Many fans will remember Remy Hii's Brad Davis in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home. Essentially, in Far From Home, Peter was trying to strengthen his relationship with MJ, but Brad kept getting in the way. Brad never got with MJ officially, but he always leaped at the opportunity to be around her and shoot his shot when Peter was off being Spider-Man.
Similarly, Brand New Day will introduce Eman Esfandi's character as someone new who is trying to get with MJ. As the trailer suggested and the official clip at CinemaCon proved, Esfandi's character will actually be MJ's boyfriend, and since MJ doesn't know who Peter is, it will be much harder on Peter mentally to see MJ with someone else.
Tramell Tillman's Bill/J. Jonah Jameson
In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tramell Tillman will portray Bill Metzger, who is reportedly a secondary antagonist who will directly go against Spider-Man. Bill isn't expected to fight Spidey physically, but reports indicate that he will be tied to the Department of Damage Control (DODC) and will be a publisher trying to smear Spider-Man's name.
Notably, it seems as though Bill will be replacing J. Jonah Jameson, a publisher and/or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. Jameson has historically been anti-Spider-Man and has always tried to lead campaigns to get the web-slinger brought to justice.
Scorpion/Vulture
One of the primary antagonists of Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be Michael Mando's Scorpion, a villain who was first introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In Brand New Day, Scorpion will directly oppose the web-slinger by using his mechanized Scorpion suit.
Scorpion's role in Brand New Day will likely feel similar to Vulture's role in Homecoming, as that character also used a mechanized suit and directly fought Spider-Man.
The Punisher/Aaron Davis
One of the most exciting aspects of Brand New Day for many fans is that Jon Bernthal's Punisher will make an appearance in the film. Punisher and Spider-Man are vastly different in terms of characterization, and, as the trailer suggested, they will likely butt heads multiple times throughout the film, as Punisher is much more extreme than Peter.
Punisher's role in Brand New Day feels somewhat similar to Aaron Davis' (Donald Glover) in Homecoming, as, like Punisher, he was a morally ambiguous character whom Spider-Man worked alongside. Notably, though, Punisher will seemingly have a much bigger role in Brand New Day than Davis did in Homecoming.
