SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Creative Team Scrapped Plans for Gray Hulk, but Fans Are Getting a Scarier Hulk
Marvel has finally put one of the biggest Spider-Man: Brand New Day rumors to rest. After months of fan theories, leaked set photos, and endless speculation, it turns out one version of Hulk that many people expected to see won't be making his MCU debut after all.
According to Art of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel actually considered bringing Gray Hulk into the movie during development. It was a real idea, but in the end, the creative team decided to stick with the version audiences know best.
Fans have been convinced for quite some time that Bruce Banner would finally transform into Gray Hulk after reports suggested he'd leave Smart Hulk behind and embrace his Savage Hulk persona once again. That speculation only gained momentum as more rumors surfaced online.
Now we know Marvel explored the concept before ultimately deciding audiences “needed the familiar green version.”
It's an interesting creative choice because Gray Hulk has been one of the biggest missing pieces of Hulk mythology in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite multiple reinventions of Mark Ruffalo's character over the years, including Gladiator Hulk and Smart Hulk, Bruce Banner has always remained green.
As it turns out, this isn't even the first time Marvel nearly pulled the trigger on Gray Hulk. During the production of Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon originally planned for Hulk to briefly turn gray after Scarlet Witch manipulated his mind during the Hulkbuster battle.
That concept never made it into the finished film, and years later, Brand New Day almost became the place where Gray Hulk finally appeared. Instead, Marvel decided the classic green look was the better fit for the story.
The art book also reveals that the creative team pushed Hulk's appearance in a different direction. Rather than making him resemble Ruffalo as closely as previous films have, the artists reduced some of the actor's facial features to create a creature that feels much more monstrous and closer to his comic book roots.
That redesign apparently pays off during one of the movie's biggest action sequences, which is described as playing out like a horror movie. Hulk relentlessly hunts Spider-Man in what the book calls a “predator-versus-prey dynamic,” with Peter Parker staying alive largely because he's simply too fast for the raging monster to catch.
The book also sheds some light on where Jon Bernthal's Punisher fits into the story. Rather than targeting Spider-Man or Hulk directly, Frank Castle becomes involved when “his own mission” unexpectedly collides with theirs. That sounds like a natural way to bring the vigilante into the action without forcing the crossover.
The film follows Peter Parker after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Peter fully committing himself to life as Spider-Man in a world where nobody remembers who he is.
Even without Gray Hulk making the jump to live action, it sounds like Marvel is giving fans a much more savage version of the character than we've seen in years.
Between a horror-inspired Hulk chase, Spider-Man trying to outmaneuver an unstoppable monster, and Punisher getting caught in the middle, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is sure to deliver a very different kind of MCU adventure.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.