The beauty of a shared cinematic universe like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that anybody can pop up anywhere at any time in any place. It's unpredictable like that. And with the franchise currently telling the story of the Multiverse Saga, it's even more unpredictable for the characters don't even need to have been a part of the MCU to make a cameo appearance in one of these projects.
But that's always been a part of the reason why the MCU continues to be such a success, as its overarching continuity ensures that every standalone title still feels like an important part of the overall story. And it allows for some pretty cool crossovers, out-of-this-world cameos, and once-in-a-lifetime moments.
With the Multiverse Saga drawing to a close, there aren't as many titles left as you might think. Of course, there will be more MCU movies and shows to come after that, but fans are appreciating each unique title that the current chapter has to offer. And it turns out that one of the most unique of them all could end up featuring a surprise appearance from one of the very first Avengers.
Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner may appear in Wonder Man series
According to prolific Marvel scooper account Marvel Updates, Mark Ruffalo may appear in upcoming Disney Plus series Wonder Man. The actor portrays Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk, in the MCU franchise and, ever since the Multiverse Saga kicked off, he has had more of a supporting role as a mentor to young heroes. Could that be what this rumored role in Wonder Man entails too?
Ironically, this isn't the first time that Ruffalo's name has come in the past few weeks as a potential returnee in a major Marvel movie. We know what you're thinking - well duh, there's an Avengers movie on the horizon! - but no, the movie we're talking about is not Avengers: Doomsday, for the MCU veteran's name was mysteriously absent from the cast announcement made by Marvel earlier this year. No, Ruffalo is now rumored to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, perhaps serving as a mentor to Peter Parker.
The previous Spider-Man trilogy within the MCU also saw Tom Holland's Peter Parker looking to franchise veterans for guidance, with Tony Stark being that father figure he needed in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Happy Hogan being there for him in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Doctor Strange and both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men mentoring him in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is one of the logest-standing characters in the MCU as a whole. Of course, the green one was portrayed by Edward Norton in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, but even then Ruffalo's first appearance came in 2012's The Avengers, which was arguably the franchise's first phenomenon movie. He has remained an important part of the franchise since, continually popping for guest appearances or supporting roles in the likes of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Although his role has been reduced since the Multiverse Saga commenced, we have seen him in a cameo appearance in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, where he operated as a source of wisdom for Shang-Chi, along with Wong and Captain Marvel. He did the same for his cousin Jennifer Walters in Disney Plus series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
Wonder Man is set to be released this December and it looks to be one of the MCU's most intriguing projects. Very little is known about it at this point, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige teased that it was "extremely different" when speaking about it on the Official Marvel Podcast a number of months ago, so the hopes are that it will follow in the footsteps of the likes of WandaVision and Agatha All Along in producing something truly original.
It stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the titular hero, alongside Ben Kingsley, who reprises his role as Trevor Slattery from both Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. As the last Marvel release of the year, hopes are high that it will deliver something truly awesome.