Hulk fans, brace yourselves. A fresh round of rumor-mill smoke says Mark Ruffalo will sit out Avengers: Doomsday because something ugly goes down for Bruce Banner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. None of this is official, but the details are specific enough to raise an eyebrow.
Hulk reportedly benched for Avengers 5
Scooper James Mack claims on X that "something very terrible" happens to Bruce in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (the new Spider-Man 4), and it keeps him "away from humans." Mack adds that Hulk was part of early Doomsday plans, but this supposed twist in Brand New Day sidelines him for the entire movie. That kind of behind-the-scenes pivot usually surfaces after the fact, so seeing it floated this early is… spicy.
The harsher version of the rumor: Earth’s heroes do not want Bruce around because he "literally killed some people." The New York crowd — described here as Yelena’s Avengers — reportedly leads the push to keep him away from humanity. It’s framed as a nod to the comics’ Illuminati era where Hulk gets banished, only done differently and specifically inside Brand New Day.
What pushes Bruce over the edge
The Cosmic Circus’s Alex Perez says Brand New Day pairs Peter and Bruce as two guys staring down old trauma and guilt that won’t stay buried. Peter spirals emotionally; Bruce comes back angrier than we’ve seen in the MCU. Less Professor Hulk, more pure rage monster on a city-stomping rampage. Perez even suggests Hulk might be pushed far enough to kill someone — which lines up with Mack’s "keep him away from humans" angle.
So when does Hulk come back?
Mack says Ruffalo returns for Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. Other reports have echoed that, which is why some fans seem fine with him sitting out Doomsday — especially if it tees up a bigger, meaner arc.
- "Wait does this mean he will be banished and come back as WORLD WAR HULK"
- "Oh please ... I need to see him in Secret Wars just destroying everything and everyone ... throw 100 Sentinels at him and let him tear them apart"
- "WE'RE GETTING WORLD WAR HULK"
- "They're setting up world war Hulkkkkk"
- "world war hulk coming for secret wars"
Ruffalo, for his part, has already talked up Secret Wars and says he’s ready for more — including a World War Hulk-style run and even a solo film if the call comes.
"Well, it’s gonna be hard to top Endgame, but if I know Kevin [Feige] and if I know Marvel, it’s gonna be pretty amazing. It’ll be a big bang, we’ll go out with a big bang."
The housekeeping
After a long stretch of speculation, fans finally got confirmation that Ruffalo is in Spider-Man 4, reportedly titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day. If these scoops are on the money, that’s where things go sideways for Bruce and why he’s not in Avengers: Doomsday. A big-screen reunion with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans would have to wait until at least Secret Wars — assuming that pans out.
Dates as of now: Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens July 31, 2026. Avengers: Doomsday hits December 18, 2026.
As always, plans change. But if Marvel really parks Hulk after an out-of-control incident and then brings him back supercharged for Secret Wars, that’s a wild swing — and honestly, maybe the moment the big guy finally gets to be scary again.