Since 2019, Ruffalo’s appearances have been limited to his Smart Hulk persona. The rageful Hulk of years past is now gone, yet theories have been raised about how he could return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Either way, Mark Ruffalo is returning to the MCU for the first time since 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Hulk’s Spider-Man 4 Role Makes Captain America: Brave New World Look Worse

Hulk’s role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is undoubtedly exciting, but there is no denying that it does not make much sense. The strange choice becomes even more so when comparing it to a 2025 Marvel movie, Captain America: Brave New World​​​​​. Above any other MCU movie since 2008, Captain America: Brave New World can be classed as a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.

The movie included several characters from The Incredible Hulk​​​​​​, from Thunderbolt Ross and Betty Ross to Samuel Sterns/The Leader. When these casting announcements were unveiled, many ᴀssumed that Mark Ruffalo would also return, finally providing a pseudo-The Incredible Hulk sequel via Sam Wilson’s story.

However, strangely, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner was nowhere to be found in the film. The reason for this was reportedly to stop Hulk from overshadowing Captain America’s story, but I would argue that the plethora of Incredible Hulk references did that anyway, only making Ruffalo’s absence much more noticeable.

Given that Marvel Studios does not own the distribution rights for a Hulk solo movie, he has appeared in several other franchises. For instance, Hulk was part of Thor: Ragnarok, the various Avengers movies, had a cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and a supporting role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Besides She-Hulk, Captain America: Brave New World had more reason to include Hulk than any of these projects. The overt links to a large portion of the character’s past made certain of this, yet the film left him absent. This only looks worse after his confirmation as part of Spider-Man 4.

As it stands, it is difficult to think of a reason as to why Hulk would be part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The characters have not interacted at all in the MCU, and the movie is expected to be a more street-level Spider-Man story than previous MCU efforts. When taking into account that the film will not include any Incredible Hulk elements like Captain America 4 did, Ruffalo’s inclusion only makes less sense.

Although I am not doubting that Marvel will make it work, the illogical choice simply makes Captain America 4 look worse; Hulk is part of another MCU movie that he seemingly has no right to be, yet wasn’t part of what was essentially a Hulk sequel.

Hulk Being In Captain America 4 Would Have Been Better For Avengers: Doomsday

Beyond the surface-level reasons for this Hulk situation making little sense, his appearance in Captain America 4 would’ve been better for Avengers: Doomsday. Thus far, neither Tom Holland nor Mark Ruffalo has been confirmed as part of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast list. That said, both are expected to appear.

A character confirmed to appear, as the leader of The Avengers no less, is Captain America. If Mark Ruffalo had been part of Captain America: Brave New World, Hulk would have formed a stronger connection with Sam Wilson, something that they lacked before now. This likely would have led Sam to enlist Bruce for his new Avengers team.

By being part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, however, this possibility has been removed. Of course, it is still possible that Sam seeks Bruce out, given the latter’s status as an original member of The Avengers. Regardless, it would have been better teased and made more sense had the Marvel Cinematic Universe included Hulk in Sam’s movie, not Spider-Man 4.