Spider-Man: Band New Day‘s trailers have shown Peter Parker fighting a former friend, the Incredible Hulk. The film’s promos have teased why two superheroes might find themselves battling. A powerful unseen force with mind control powers looms large. And that mysterious figure could also be why we will finally get to see something that—as impossible as it sounds—hasn’t happened on screen in the MCU in 14 years. Spider-Man: Brand New Day might finally show Bruce Banner hulking out again. That’s right, folks, it’s been nearly a decade and a half since we actually saw Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk, way back in The Avengers.
When Did Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner Last Transform Into Hulk Onscreen in an MCU Movie?
Seriously, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner has not hulked out onscreen since his iconic moment in 2012’s The Avengers. The last time MCU fans actually saw the mild-mannered “always angry” professor transform into a giant green rage monster came after he told Steve Rogers his “secret.” Since then, he has only hulked out off-screen. He tried, and briefly flashed as the Hulk, during Avengers: Endgame, but the “big guy” refused to come out no matter how much Bruce strained to unleash him.
It was very embarrassing for Tony Stark in front of the wizards, but after Thanos kicked Hulk’s ass at the start of that movie, the green rage monsters refused Banner’s pleas. (No, we didn’t see Bruce Banner transform in the Hulk at the start of Infinity War. His first appearance in the movie was as the Hulk.)
Here’s When You THOUGHT You Saw the Hulk Hulk Out, But He Didn’t
You’re right, the Hulk was a big part of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but all of his transformations happened offscreen. The big guy was already the Grandmaster’s champion when Thor arrived on Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok. But we never saw Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk with our own eyes during that movie, not even during his battle with Hera’s giant wolf on the Bifröst. In that sequence, we saw him as Bruce crash into the bridge after failing to transform. Bruce then disappeared behind the charging wolf, who was stopped by the suddenly appearing Hulk.
Bruce Banner then appeared in human form in a Captain Marvel end-credits scene. In Avengers: Endgame, we then met Professor Hulk, as Bruce combined the brains and the brawn. In both Shang-Chi and She-Hulk, he was back to being a person thanks to an inhibitor chip he wore on his wrist that kept Hulk at bay. Bruce stopped wearing it and returned to his Professor Hulk form after his cousin became She-Hulk.
Since 2012’s The Avengers, we have seen onscreen transformations of other Hulks. That included (though less than you might remember) when Thunderbolt Ross became the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. But we haven’t watched Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk with our own eyes in a very, very long time.
Will Spider-Man: Brand New Day Show Bruce Banner Transform Into Hulk for the First Time in 14 Years?
“Dr. Banner?”
“No Banner. Only Hulk.”
So, will Spider-Man: Brand New Day break this surprisingly long streak of the MCU not showing Bruce Banner physically changing into Hulk? We know we’re going to see the Incredible Hulk—not Professor Hulk—in this movie, thanks to the trailers. We’ll have to wait to see the movie to find out if we’ll see that iconic transformation from Bruce to Hulk onscreen for the first time in 14 years. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day heads to theaters on July 31, 2026.