AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Rumored to Bring Back the THOR: RAGNAROK Version of Hulk
Marvel Studios may be getting ready to let Hulk have some fun again. A new rumor surrounding Avengers: Secret Wars claims the massive green Avenger could return with the personality and characterization fans saw in Thor: Ragnarok, which would be a pretty entertaining change from the Bruce Banner/Hulk hybrid we’ve spent more time with in recent MCU stories.
The rumor comes from Marvel insider Alex Perez of The Cosmic Circus, who discussed Hulk’s potential future during an August 2026 Q&A with members of his Discord and Patreon communities.
During the conversation, a fan asked whether Anthony Russo and Joe Russo would continue using Savage Hulk in Secret Wars. The question also raised the possibility of Eric Bana returning as another version of Bruce Banner/Hulk.
Perez’s response pointed specifically toward Hulk’s Thor: Ragnarok era: “Do you guys remember the Hulk we saw during Thor: Ragnarok? That’s the Hulk you’re going to get.”
If that information turns out to be true, it sounds like Secret Wars could bring back the more talkative, emotional, funny, and occasionally childish Hulk. I enjoyed the version of Hulk we saw in Ragnarok!
That version of Hulk was basically living his best life on Sakaar. He was a celebrity gladiator, had no interest in giving control back to Banner, and had developed considerably beyond the mostly rage-driven version audiences had previously seen.
Director Taika Waititi gave Hulk a much bigger personality in the 2017 movie, allowing him to actually interact with Thor as a character rather than simply being the team’s giant green wrecking ball.
It would be cool to see some of that personality return, especially in something as potentially massive as Secret Wars. Hulk has undergone some major changes since Ragnarok, eventually merging Banner’s intelligence with Hulk’s body and becoming Smart Hulk. So, there are plenty of questions about exactly how the Russos might get him back to that earlier characterization.
And because this is Secret Wars, Marvel has plenty of comic book craziness available to make practically anything possible. Multiverse variants, alternate realities, timeline shenanigans, or another transformation could all provide an explanation. For now, though, Perez’s comments only address the kind of Hulk fans can apparently expect rather than how Marvel gets him there.
As for Eric Bana possibly joining the multiverse party, there isn’t much to go on. When Perez was asked whether the actor could return, he responded: “I haven’t heard anything about Eric Bana.”
Bana played Bruce Banner in director Ang Lee’s Hulk in 2003, years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. With Marvel increasingly pulling characters and actors from different corners of superhero movie history into its multiverse stories, it’s easy to understand why fans would wonder if Bana could eventually get an invitation.
At least according to Perez, however, there’s currently nothing suggesting that’s happening in Secret Wars.
Before we get there, Marvel Studios has another enormous Avengers movie on the way. Avengers: Doomsday, also directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars will follow a year later on December 17, 2027.
There’s still plenty we don’t know about Hulk’s role in either movie, and this information should remain firmly in rumor territory until Marvel confirms something.
But if Secret Wars really does bring back the Thor: Ragnarok style Hulk, I’m totally down to see the big guy get his personality back and smash his way through whatever multiversal insanity the Russos have planned.