Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Bringing Back a Major MCU Favorite (and a Surprising Villain, Too)

The upcoming Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has just gained two more Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. On Friday, two more additions to the ever-growing cast of the fourth Spider-Man movie were announced. After quite a bit of fan speculation, it was confirmed that Mark Ruffalo is set to return as the Hulk for the upcoming movie. However, his addition is not the most surprising. It’s the return of Michael Mando as Scorpion that’s the most surprising addition. News of the cast additions comes after Marvel Studios and Sony shared an official first look at the new Spider-Man suit earlier in the day.

Production is currently ramping up on the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director, Destin Daniel Cretton taking over directing duties from Jon Watts. The screenplay for the latest Spider-Man installment was penned by Spider-Man scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who also worked on the previous three Spider-Man movies starring Holland. Prior to the confirmation of Mando’s return as Scorpion, images shared by Cretton’s assistant hinted that the movie could also feature Boomerang, Tarantula, and Venom. It’s remains unclear if that will actually happen, especially as the film’s cast is already pretty stuffed.

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Ruffalo and Mando’s casting, reported by The Hollywood Reporter, make them just the latest to join the Spider-Man flick. It was previously revealed that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher would be making the jump from the small screen to the big screen for the first time within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bernthal, of course, first starred as the Punisher in Netflix’s Defenders universe, where he made his debut in the hit Daredevil series before he went on to star in his own spinoff show. He’s currently filming a Punisher special for Marvel Studios and Disney+, following his return as the character in Daredevil: Born Again.

As for Ruffalo, the last time Ruffalo played the Hulk was in the Disney+ series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The character’s future has been long speculated, with rumors continuing to speculate that a World War Hulks project is in development, although those rumors have never been given any weight by Marvel Studios. His last appearance as Hulk on the big screen was officially in Avengers: Endgame, although he did make a brief appearance as Bruce Banner in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ end credits scene. It’s unclear how big of a role Hulk will have in the film, but the outlet reports that while Hulk was rumored to appear in the movie for a while, his inclusion was only confirmed once the script fully came together.

Ever since Spider-Man joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as part of the deal between Marvel Studios and Sony, Holland’s Spider-Man has been paired with various characters. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he was joined by Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, then in Spider-Man: Far from Home, he was joined by Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. In the last Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, he was joined by Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that he’ll be joined by a larger Marvel Cinematic Universe character with the Hulk.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day will hit theaters on July 31, 2026.