Mark Ruffalo at the 2024 Oscars Nominees Luncheon. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Spider-Man: Brand New Day has found a smashing star to join Tom Holland in the Sony/Marvel movie sequel. Mark Ruffalo is returning to reprise the role of Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, in the feature, which comes 14 years after the actor joined the MCU in The Avengers. The move had been rumored for a while but only firmed up as the script came together and as production gears up for beginning of production this month in England. At the same time, Michael Mando, known for his work on Better Call Saul, is returning to reprise the role of the Scorpion, the villain character whom he first played in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the 2017 feature that kicked off the Holland-centric Spider-Man movies. Related Stories Movies Kenneth Lonergan Revisits 'You Can Count on Me' on THR's 'It Happened in Hollywood' Podcast Movies Taylor Kitsch to Star in 'Eleven Days' Prison Hostage Thriller Holland's Spider-Man films have always paired him with a more seasoned actor, such as Robert Downey Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Samuel L Jackson (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Spider-Man: No Way Home), playing key characters Iron Man, Nick Fury and Doctor Strange, respectively. (The movies invoke the tone of classic Marvel comic Marvel Team-Up, a series from the 1970s and 1980s that featured Spider-Man partnering with another hero for an escapade.) Brand New Day, however, is stacking the deck. Jon Bernthal is also on the call sheet to reprise his role of the vigilante known as the Punisher. It's the character's first big-screen appearance in the MCU and first movie appearance in general since 2008 action movie Punisher: War Zone, in which the late Ray Stevenson played the role. The plot details are being kept under the vest, but you can bet that, in the mighty Marvel manner, Spider-Man, Punisher and Hulk will all fight one another before figuring out who the real bad guys are. Sony and Marvel had no comment. Michael Mando Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Destin Daniel Cretton is directing the feature that has regular Spider-Man scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers writing the script. Brand New Day has a release date of July 31, 2026. Ruffalo has appeared in numerous Marvel projects, including Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He most recently appeared in the Disney+ TV series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and cameo'd in Cretton's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Mando was a key character in all six seasons of Saul, playing the complicated drug deal Nacho Varga. Mando also appeared in sci-fi series Orphan Black. Ruffalo is repped by UTA and Lighthouse Management while Mando is repped by UTA and Underground. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Woody Allen Scott MacDonough, Unit Publicist on 'Annie Hall' and 'Norma Rae,' Dies at 81 Heat Vision Ioan Gruffudd Reflects on Why His Third 'Fantastic Four' Movie Was Scrapped Heat Vision 'Star Wars: A New Hope' Will Return to Theaters in 2027 to Honor 50th Anniversary Heat Vision 'The Naked Gun' Filmmaker Akiva Schaffer Explains Why He Limited the Reboot to One O.J. Joke Heat Vision Box Office: 'Bad Guys 2' Scores $2.6M in Previews, Liam Neeson's 'Naked Gun' Loads Up With $1.6M Heat Vision 'A Quiet Place Part III' Is A Go with John Krasinski Directing for a 2027 Release Woody Allen Scott MacDonough, Unit Publicist on 'Annie Hall' and 'Norma Rae,' Dies at 81 Heat Vision Ioan Gruffudd Reflects on Why His Third 'Fantastic Four' Movie Was Scrapped Heat Vision 'Star Wars: A New Hope' Will Return to Theaters in 2027 to Honor 50th Anniversary Heat Vision 'The Naked Gun' Filmmaker Akiva Schaffer Explains Why He Limited the Reboot to One O.J. Joke Heat Vision Box Office: 'Bad Guys 2' Scores $2.6M in Previews, Liam Neeson's 'Naked Gun' Loads Up With $1.6M Heat Vision 'A Quiet Place Part III' Is A Go with John Krasinski Directing for a 2027 Release