Marvel Studios might set up World War Hulk in its next movie, Captain America: Brave New World, which will release in 2025.
Rumors of a World War Hulk movie are nothing new, with claims going as far back as 2021 that the monstrous Hulk solo blockbuster would film in late 2022.
But those rumors amounted to nothing, perhaps due to recent shifts in the MCU's future direction as an insider claimed in 2022 that they haven't heard "a single thing on [World War Hulk] in over a year."
Captain America 4 Rumored to Tease World War Hulk
According to a rumor shared by DanielRPK, Marvel Studios has made changes to the ending of its next movie, Captain America: Brave New World, to lay the groundwork for a World War Hulk project.
The insider added that the new ending for Captain America 4 will tie the somewhat grounded political thriller closer to the Multiverse Saga.
But those reportedly weren't the only changes to Captain America 4.
Brave New World has faced controversy for including the Israel superhero Sabra in the movie. But that may be a thing of the past as, according to the rumor, Captain America 4 has removed every link to her being Israeli.
The original plan positioned Sabra as an Israeli mutant with powers working for President Ross under the CIA. This was confirmed as she stated to Sam Wilson she has had powers since she was a teenager in Tel Aviv, an Israeli city.
However, these Israeli aspects have been removed in more recent evolutions, and Sabra, aka Ruth, will now just be a powerless ex-Black Widow working for Ross.
Further changes were made to some of the action scenes, as the Serpent Society was changed from a team of half-cyborg criminals to a terrorist group of normal humans, possibly with super soldier strength.
The Serpent Society will be led in Brave New World by Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito as the villainous Sidewinder, who will have superpowers and seemingly appear in a Disney+ series after his big-screen debut.
How Captain America 4 Will Set Up Major MCU Stories
As Captain America 4 is placed to introduce a new gamma monster in Harrison Ford's Red Hulk, the path is clear from there to World War Hulk.
Captain America 4 will bring back Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk's Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader. Since Sterns has a history of experimenting with Hulk blood in the MCU as an ally to Bruce Banner, perhaps his new villainous turn will see him create Red Hulk and more in the future.
Fans met a few new Hulks already in the Multiverse Saga as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law debuted the titular green hero and Bruce Banner's son Sakaar, while also bringing back Tim Rothman's Abomination.
Unless the project is fast-tracked, it will likely not be released until the next saga, after Avengers: Secret Wars closes out the MCU's Multiverse tale.
As a 2026 release date feels overly optimistic, a release in 2027 or later is most likely, perhaps fitting into the July 23 or November 5, 2027 release dates that Marvel Studios has allocated for untitled movies after Avengers 6.
Based on Brave New World's recent changes, it appears the flick was once poised to be a more standalone affair. But with Avengers: Doomsday looming, Marvel Studios now appears to make it a bigger piece of the Multiverse Saga.
This could involve teasing the next team of Avengers and setting up this World War Hulk storyline, but likely won't involve any actual Multiversal elements as the movie has been framed as a grounded(ish) political thriller.
In terms of when a World War Hulk project will be released, that's tough to say, especially with distribution rights to the Hulk held up at Universal, making Disney unlikely to release one unless those are recovered or a deal is reached.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
