The MCU Hulk story we’ve all been hoping will finally happen is somewhat ironically made more possible by one of 2025’s most controversial story choices. Over the course of the MCU timeline, the Hulk has worn many metaphorical hats, being a solo hero, a key member of the Avengers, and a mentor to his cousin after Jennifer Walters became She-Hulk.

However, there’s still a lot left to be desired about the manner in which the franchise has depicted the hero throughout his almost 20-year-long run in the franchise. Promisingly, it does seem one upcoming MCU movie might be about to bring a change to this – though, oddly enough, this may actually be more likely thanks to a controversial Marvel move.

Captain America: Brave New World Not Featuring The Hulk Makes Savage Hulk Returning In Spider-Man: Brand New Day Feel Way More Possible

Captain America: Brave New World managing to feature Hulk villains the Red Hulk and the Leader – and feature General Ross and his daughter as focal plot points – without ever featuring the Hulk himself, despite them all having their start in The Incredible Hulk itself, was naturally a controversial MCU movie decision among viewers.

Though Mark Ruffalo’s green giant being missing from this movie ensured that Sam Wilson’s debut as Captain America remained the primary focus of the story throughout, using all of these Hulk characters without the hero himself left a Hulk-shaped void, and one that appears to have played a role in the film’s divided critical reputation, and suboptimal box office results.

Leaving the Hulk out of Captain America: Brave New World, however, does make the prospect of reverting the “Smart Hulk” to his more primal form in Spider-Man: Brand New Day easier. With a bigger in-universe time gap between when we last saw the Hulk, it’s easier to justify a big move like the Hulk reverting to his previous form.

Captain America: Brave New World effectively does the hard work of explaining why the Smart Hulk’s mindfulness mantras might not be enough to prevent the trauma-powered Savage Hulk from coming back through without having to justify it on-screen, as the Red Hulk and the Leader emerging as villains can perfectly explain Savage Hulk’s return all the same.

The MCU Desperately Needs The Original Hulk Now More Than Ever

There’s a reason many of the most prominent theories about Spider-Man: Brand New Day are that the Hulk will be back to his classical self in the MCU movie. While the Smart Hulk plot twist was an entertaining part of Avengers: Endgame, this has removed much of what makes the character work for years.

In the same way the comics didn’t make Professor Hulk the permanent Hulk form of Bruce Banner, it seems the MCU would best benefit from bringing back the original Hulk. With fewer MCU heroes who have been in the franchise from the start still around, the Hulk is more important than ever, and yet has stagnated more in recent years.

Given the MCU has set up She-Hulk and Hulk’s son Skaar as well as the Red Hulk and the Leader in these years, being able to capture what makes the Marvel berserker work would pay further dividends for the MCU, by potentially allowing for further developments for all of these characters at once via Hulk’s own changed circumstances.

Since a Hulk movie appears to not be on the cards for the MCU going forward, having the Hulk revert to his original form in a different movie seems to be the best and most practical approach for the franchise at a time where it may need to draw more on the original movies that made it work.

It also already seems this would play well into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, since it’s set to focus on Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the Punisher at minimum – alongside its antagonist – and thus could benefit from utilizing a storyline that gives Hulk’s appearance a lot of metaphorical punch without needing huge explanations.

Why Savage Hulk Returning In Spider-Man: Brand New Day Would Be Perfect Timing

As the current last MCU movie before the franchise releases Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has a position of natural importance in the MCU release schedule. This isn’t new for the web-slinging hero – since, for example, Spider-Man: Far From Home released right after Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Doomsday has a lot of pressure on it in terms of proving the MCU can continue to build a successful path onward. Bringing back the version of the Hulk that resonates most with viewers would make a lot of sense from this perspective, and open up plenty of new avenues for the MCU to take the Hulk’s story in.

Spider-Man being one of the MCU’s biggest heroes – and most successful in terms of box office – means that a major change like the Hulk reverting to Smart Hulk form in Spider-Man: Brand New Day would result in it being something audiences would broadly know about going into Avengers: Doomsday, preventing it from having to be fully re-explained there too.

With Spider-Man’s MCU trilogy historically being a place where other heroes get notable developments – and No Way Home most recently providing this for Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguie’s Spider-Men alongside Doctor Strange – having this Hulk hope come to fruition in Spider-Man: Brand New Day would make a lot of sense, and could pay off in a very literal way too.