To say Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been surrounded in secrecy ever since its announcement would be an understatement. We're a little over a year from Spider-Man's upcoming adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, yet Disney and Sony have refused to share much about what's coming. But even when we've learned next to nothing about the movie's story from official sources, that doesn't mean we haven't been able to get a glimpse behind the curtain from time to time.
Insiders and scoopers have painted a fascinating picture about Spider-Man: Brand New Day. All signs seem to indicate that the movie will feature a street-level storyline with multiple villains, such as Scorpion and Mr. Negative. Furthermore, it appears Spidey won't be alone when facing the dangers that threaten New York City. Much to fans' surprise, it was recently reported that Bruce Banner will have a major role in the movie. Granted, the MCU has historically loved to pair Peter Parker with other heroes. However, very few could've imagined that it was Hulk's turn this time around.
Everyone has wondered how the green, raging monster would fit into a Spider-Man tale. Some have theorized that his alternate persona, Joe Fixit, could be working for Mr. Negative. Others have suspected that Bruce could be Peter's college professor moving forward, or that Hulk could be the only one to remember Spidey's secret identity after Doctor Strange erased his existence from the world. Fortunately, a new report surfaced that might just put an end to all the recent speculation and give us some conclusive answers.
Hulk will know someone related to Peter in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Spider-Man movies rarely explore what happened to Peter's parents before their deaths. Sure, The Amazing Spider-Man saga tried to tackle that storyline, yet it still left some things up in the air. With that in mind, the MCU might try to find success by diving into unexplored lands. According to renowned industry insider Alex Perez, Bruce Banner knows "someone related to Peter", explaining his rumored role in Brand New Day. While it wasn't specified who he met exactly, many were quick to point out that his parents would be the perfect candidates.
Now that Aunt May's gone, Peter has no more relatives left. Being all on his own might prompt him to investigate more about his family's past, leading him to meet Bruce Banner. But how will the movie tackle such a storyline? Well, in comic book pages, Richard and Mary Parker were CIA agents who went on undercover missions, saved Wolverine, and were killed by Red Skull (though Spider-Man & Wolverine (2025) No. 1 heavily hinted that Logan was really the one to take them out). With that in mind, Spider-Man: Brand New Day could follow a similar story, with Peter's parents working as former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Bruce briefly crossing paths with them during the events of The Avengers.
However, there are two problems with the "secret agents" theory. For starters, Bruce barely worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. before going his own separate way, so it would be unreasonable to assume he became close with anyone on his time there. Granted, the espionage organization was controlled by HYDRA, which could be a nice way to connect Peter's parents to Red Skull as it happened in comics, but therein lies the second problem.
Comic book fans agree that anyone should be able to see themselves in Peter's shoes, and his parents being secret agents unfortunately make the character less relatable. To prevent this, Spider-Man: Brand New Day could reveal that Richard and Mary Parker were renowned scientists who happened to work with Bruce Banner. Furthermore, all three of them could've created an early version of Devil's Breath designed to heal a terminal illness, only for their creation to be weaponized by Mister Negative. That way, the movie's antagonist would have a personal connection to Peter, and we could see some Ultimate Spider-Man nods given that Richard wanted to create a substance to heal those whose time seemed over (only to die for his good intentions).
Of course, another possibility is that Bruce Banner had a close relationship with Ben, who hasn't appeared in the MCU yet. Granted, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man did show pictures of Peter's Uncle, but it's worth remembering that the series' story takes place in an alternate reality. So the door is open for a new version of the character to steal the spotlight after being absent on the big screen since 2012, when The Amazing Spider-Man was released.
Only time will tell if Bruce Banner will show up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and what his role will be. However, director Destin Daniel Cretton might just surprise us all and deliver a compelling reason for the character to interact with the wall-crawler for the first time in the entirety of the MCU.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on Jul. 31, 2026.