Spider-Man: Brand New Day has officially started shooting, and Marvel fans know what that means — a constant stream of rumors and fan speculation from now until the movie finally comes out on July 31, 2026. One such rumor, bolstered by a trade story, is that Brand New Day will see the return of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk for the first time since 2022. This is good news for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Hulk’s reported involvement in the next Spider-Man movie gives Marvel the perfect opportunity to make a popular fan theory come true.
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Spider-Man: No Way Home famously ends with the world collectively forgetting about both Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Spider-Man, to the extent that even Peter’s closest friends, MJ and Ned, have no memory of him whatsoever. A popular fan theory that began circling online following the release of No Way Home proposes that the Hulk may be the one exception to this rule. That’s not to suggest that Bruce Banner will know who Spider-Man is, but specifically that Banner’s Hulk persona will remember the wall-crawler.
The Hulk Remembering Peter Parker Comes From the Comics
As with most things in the MCU, this fan theory is rooted in the comics – specifically, 2020’s Immortal Hulk: Great Power #1. Coming during one of the greatest Hulk runs of all time, Great Power tells a story where Spider-Man inherits Bruce Banner’s Hulk persona thanks to a spell from the infamous trickster, Loki. A now Hulk-less Banner does everything he can to help Peter Parker rid himself of the Green Goliath, including reabsorbing the Hulk into his own body.
Once the Jade Giant is back sharing a body with Banner again, he reveals that he knows Spider-Man’s secret identity. This is despite Peter making a bargain with Mephisto that included everyone in the Marvel Universe forgetting that Spider-Man was Peter Parker (Peter had previously announced his secret identity to the world during the Civil War crossover event).
When Spider-Man asks the Hulk, “Wait, did you just call me Peter?” Hulk responds, “You made everyone forget who you are. Banner forgot. But I don’t forget.”
While it would seemingly make sense for something similar to playout in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, there’s one problem: The Hulk and Spider-Man haven’t interacted in the MCU — at least not on-camera. Marvel could normally get around this with an after-credits scene showing the two heroes meeting, except that, as of right now, Brand New Day is the next Marvel movie scheduled to hit theaters. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen another way.
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a Marvel One-Shot — a series of short films that fill in the gaps between MCU releases — but it could be the perfect format to establish a connection between Bruce Banner and Peter Parker prior to Spider-Man Brand New Day. A short vignette on Disney+, a few months before Brand New Day hits theaters, could do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of building a relationship between the Hulk and Spider-Man.
Or Brand New Day itself could open with a flashback or, at the very least, feature some expository dialogue explaining how the Hulk knows Spider-Man. There are a lot of options if Marvel actually goes in that direction. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this fan theory proving to be true is the opportunity it gives the MCU to bring back what many fans think of as the “real” Hulk.
Professor Hulk has his place, but it’s no secret that fans miss the unbridled fury of the Savage Hulk. It’s not hard to imagine how the Hulk remembering Spider-Man could lead to a return of Savage Hulk, either. We already know from Avengers: Endgame that the Professor Hulk persona is just Bruce Banner and the Savage Hulk getting along and agreeing to share a body. Should a disagreement arise between the two personas — say, if the Hulk remembers Peter Parker but Bruce Banner doesn’t — it would only make sense that they might split apart again.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Would be the Perfect Place to Introduce The Hulk’s Joe Fixit Persona
There’s also the possibility that Spider-Man causing a rift between Banner’s personalities would cause a third to manifest. Almost as popular as the “Hulk remembers Peter Parker” fan theory is the one that Spider-Man: Brand New Day might introduce Bruce Banner’s Joe Fixit persona to the MCU. This grey version of the Hulk is smarter but slightly weaker and used to work as a mob enforcer. It’s basically Professor Hulk, if he were obsessed with The Godfather.
Ultimately, whether Brand New Day features a plot where the Hulk remembers Peter Parker, brings back the Savage Hulk, or introduces Joe Fixit, it will just be nice to see the Hulk on the big screen for the first time since Endgame in 2019.
We’ll have to wait until Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026, to find out just what exactly (if anything) the Hulk’s role will be in the film. Do you hope to see Peter Parker and the Hulk interacting on the big screen next year? Let us know in the comments.
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