Spider-Man: Brand New Day Debuts the Hulk Marvel Nearly Used in The Avengers

File this under: I did not have Spider-Man and Punisher trying to take down Hulk on my 2026 bingo card. But that is exactly what the latest rumor mill is cranking out about Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The new chatter

• Scooper Daniel RPK says Jon Bernthal's Punisher teams with Spider-Man to stop Mark Ruffalo's Hulk.
• The Hulk reportedly would not be classic rage-beast or the more divisive Professor Hulk. The talk is about Grey Hulk - a colder, more calculating persona.
• Grey Hulk nearly made it to screen in Avengers: Age of Ultron before Marvel stuck with green during the Hulkbuster fight.
• Brand New Day is said to lean street-level, which would make Punisher's involvement make sense if Hulk becomes an unchecked threat.
• Per the same scooper, Punisher gets the most screen time of the guest heroes and a tonal shift from his more mature outings.
• Kevin Feige previously teased a tonal adjustment, saying, 'When Punisher is in the Spider-Man movie, it will be a different tonality' (via Collider).
• If this all pans out, it could be Ruffalo's biggest spotlight since Endgame parked Hulk on the sidelines.
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently dated for July 31, 2026.

So, Grey Hulk is not just Hulk with a different paint job

Grey Hulk is another slice of Bruce Banner's fractured psyche - less pure rage, more cynicism, resentment, and a need to be in control. He usually is not as physically amped as Green Hulk, whose strength scales with anger, but he can be nastier because he is not weighed down by Bruce's guilt or innocence. Think smarter, meaner, and much more strategic.

The Age of Ultron almost-was

We almost saw this side of Hulk during Ultron's Hulkbuster throwdown. The idea was to visually signal Wanda's manipulation with a greyed-out Hulk. ILM broke down what changed (via Wired):

'Initially, Hulk was actually planned to turn grey when he's angry Hulk in the Hulkbuster sequence but hey, everybody wanted the green guy. So, in the end, ILM just changed his eyes to make them look more sullen when he's under the control of Scarlet Witch.'

That tracks with the current rumor that Brand New Day pushes Hulk to places we have not seen on screen yet. If the movie wants a scarier, more unpredictable Banner persona without going full kaiju, Grey Hulk fits the bill.

Why would Punisher hunt Hulk?

If the film really is steering into street-level chaos, a super-strong wildcard smashing through a city is exactly the kind of thing that puts Frank Castle on the board. The interesting wrinkle is Peter vs. Frank. Spider-Man does everything he can to avoid lethal force - especially when the target is a friend. Punisher does not share that hesitation. That moral clash is built for friction.

What to watch for

Two big swing factors: whether Marvel actually commits to Grey Hulk, and how far they soften Punisher to live in a Spider-Man movie without losing the character's edge. Feige's 'different tonality' line suggests some sanding of the roughest corners, but Bernthal can sell intensity even when the dial is turned down.

Bottom line: nothing here is official, but if Daniel RPK's reporting holds, Brand New Day is not just a Spidey sequel. It is a crossover with teeth - and a potentially fascinating Hulk chapter that Marvel has been circling since Ultron.