The Marvel Cinematic Universe might be 16 years old, but the best is yet to come. There is no shortage of exciting stories on the horizon, such as the wall-crawler crossing paths with the Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Earth's Mightiest Heroes meeting the X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday. However, there has been no official word on what will come after the Multiverse Saga comes to an end. Worse yet, the longer the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes on, the less likely it is that some of its original heroes will remain active.
Out of the six original Avengers, only three stand. Steve Rogers went back to the past to live a peaceful and normal life with Peggy Carter (though rumor has it he might make a comeback in Avengers: Doomsday). Iron Man gave his life away to destroy Thanos and his forces, and Black Widow sacrificed herself to give the rest of the universe a chance at survival. But even if some of these six legends are officially out of the picture, one of them might have a bright future ahead in the MCU.
A Planet Hulk Project is still reportedly in development at Marvel
This one has been a long time coming. According to reliable insider Alex Perez (via The Cosmic Circus), a Planet Hulk / World War Hulk project is in development at Marvel Studios, which means it will be released after the Multiverse Saga comes to an end. However, there's a chance that the beginning of Bruce Banner's next arc could start next year with the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
For months now, it has been heavily rumored that the Green Goliath will appear in the wall-crawler's upcoming adventure. Even the man behind the monster himself, Mark Ruffalo, indirectly confirmed that he'll act opposite to Jon Bernthal's Punisher. But a bigger question in store is: What will be the Hulk's role in what's shaping up to be a street-level story?
It has been reported that Savage Hulk will make his debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and that his arc could extend onto Avengers: Doomsday. If that's the case, then we're about to witness the most relentless, unhinged, and violent version of the iconic anti-hero. We've heard stories of how destructive the "other guy" can be, and if they come to fruition in the future, then Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have another problem in their hands that they won't be able to ignore.
In comic book pages, the Planet Hulk storyline began the moment the Illuminati decided that the Hulk was too dangerous to live on Earth. As such, they sent him on a one-way trip to space. After an unexpected turn, the Hulk ends up on Sakaar, and the rest is history. We have already seen this arc adapted on the big screen during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: Ragnarok. However, there could be a slight chance that a similar scenario happens yet again, except the Green Goliath is purposefully exiled in space, all due to a unanimous decision by his peers.
There's another possibility of how Marvel could create a Planet Hulk adaptation without being completely derivative of Thor: Ragnarok. Rumor has it that the MCU will undergo a soft reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars, with many heroes who are long gone coming back to life (but portrayed by different actors) and some storylines being completely erased. Meanwhile, other fan-favorite heroes and events that have already happened will remain canon. If that's the case, then there could be a world where Hulk never went to Sakaar to begin with, and it could happen for the very first time.
Regardless of how the Planet Hulk adaptation comes to be, it's nice to learn that we'll get to see a more explosive side of the Green Goliath after watching the smart persona take over for the past few years. Fortunately, it seems we won't have to wait long to see the monster unleashed, as he could join the wall-crawler and Punisher next year.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on Jul. 31, 2026.