Marvel has dropped a surprising update about Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. A rumored transformation will not happen after all. The reveal comes from the movie’s upcoming art book, which explains a major creative decision for Bruce Banner’s return. While fans will still see Hulk embrace his Savage side, one long-speculated change has officially been left on the drawing board.
Marvel’s Gray Hulk color reveal for Spider-Man: Brand New Day is bad news
For months, many Marvel fans believed Brand New Day would finally introduce Gray Hulk. Leaked footage and online speculation fueled the theory, especially after reports that Bruce Banner would abandon Smart Hulk and return to his more aggressive Savage persona. However, the film’s art book, Art of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, confirms Marvel explored Gray Hulk early in development before deciding that audiences “needed the familiar green version.”
The choice also closes the door on an idea Marvel once considered years ago. During Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon had planned for Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk to turn gray while under Scarlet Witch’s influence during the Hulkbuster fight. That concept never reached the screen, and despite later versions like Gladiator Hulk and Smart Hulk, Bruce’s skin has stayed green throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (via Comicbook Movie).
The art book also reveals that concept artists made Hulk appear less human by softening Ruffalo’s facial resemblance and giving the character a more monstrous comic-book look. One of the film’s biggest action scenes reportedly plays out like a horror sequence, with Hulk chasing Spider-Man in a “predator-versus-prey dynamic” because Peter is simply too fast to catch.
Beyond Hulk, the book confirms Jon Bernthal’s Punisher crosses paths with Spider-Man and Hulk when “his own mission” collides with theirs rather than because either hero is his target. The story follows Peter Parker after Spider-Man: No Way Home, as he throws himself into full-time crime fighting in a world that no longer remembers him.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on SuperHeroHype.
