Marvel Studios may be steering into the storm once again. New leaks and rumors suggest that Mark Ruffalo will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, possibly in the form of a villainous and unstoppable “Savage Hulk.”
A Savage Hulk in the Spider-Verse?
According to Cosmic Book News, Spider-Man 4 may include Savage Hulk as one of several antagonists, alongside Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula. The idea of a Hulk-driven threat in a Spider-Man movie is unexpected—and not without precedent. Comics have explored conflicts between the two, often with philosophical undertones about control, rage, and responsibility.
(L-R): Mark Ruffalo as Smart Hulk / Bruce Banner and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer “Jen” Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
The Savage Hulk persona, in particular, marks a departure from the more “comedic” Smart Hulk seen in the She-Hulk series on Disney+ and recent Avengers entries. If Marvel does embrace this shift, it could be a sign that the studio is responding to fan demand for a more serious tone. However, that pivot may be undercut by the casting decision behind it, if the rumors indeed prove true.
Mark Ruffalo in Spider-Man?
MCU Film News on X/Twitter claims Ruffalo’s return as Bruce Banner won’t be a brief cameo. Instead, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark his tenth MCU appearance and a significant narrative role, possibly as one of Peter Parker’s main allies turned adversaries.
Mark Ruffalo joining Spider-Man in a larger capacity might sound like a headline grab, but for many fans it’s more of a red flag than a selling point.
Mark Ruffalo speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Thor: Ragnarok” Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Ruffalo’s performance was initially well-received, but his outspoken political activism has made him a lightning rod online. In today’s media landscape, actor behavior often bleeds into character perception. Whether fair or not, many fans and moviegoers now associate Ruffalo’s presence with off-screen baggage, and Marvel’s decision to spotlight him again is raising questions.
Moreover, this is not the first time Marvel’s loyalty to controversial figures has backfired. Brie Larson’s continued role as Captain Marvel drew years of backlash and led to The Marvels, the studio’s most costly flop.
(L-R): Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, and Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 MARVEL.
The pattern of ignoring audience discomfort—or worse, dismissing it outright—is becoming harder to justify as the Feige brand’s cultural dominance wanes.
Will This Be a Risk Worth Taking?
The Savage Hulk angle does offer potential—especially if the film leans into a more monstrous, unpredictable take on Banner.
That could give Tom Holland’s Spider-Man a true “David vs Goliath” challenge. With Spider-Man stripped back to basics after No Way Home, a brutal showdown with a feral Hulk would raise the stakes and reintroduce real danger. It’s a decent change from multiverse fatigue or jokey team-ups.
Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
But, of course, Marvel did just present us with a movie where the main hero goes up against a Hulk adversary in Captain America: Brave New World. That movie grossly underperformed for Marvel, even after a series of costly rewrites and reshoots.
Even the most compelling narrative choice can be overshadowed when fan trust is already strained. Mark Ruffalo appearing in Spider-Man 4 as Savage Hulk should be exciting news, and might have been in days gone by. Instead, it’s become a flashpoint in a larger conversation about Marvel’s trajectory. And the consequences of pushing forward without heeding the audience feedback could once again hurt their revenue.
One more reason not to watch it then.
The biggest reason Brave New World failed was because Falcon and the Winter Soldier were homework to really know what was going on. And I do mean work; there was very little I could stand about that show and never made it through.
Also, Steve Rogers is the only Captain America. Sam Wilson is not Captain America.
Anthony Mackie is a fine actor and I am sure a decent guy, and a great Falcon, but a poor substitute for Steve Rogers.
And the Red Hulk as the big bad when they have a whole rogues gallery for Cap? That was sad.
This Mark Ruffalo saddo is a woke activist. BOYCOTT anything he’s in. Score it low, as he’s useless. Ditto Pascal, the anti-Trump Avengers zoom-advert cast, etc.