For better or worse, Marvel Comics is frequently influenced by whatever's happening in the movies and TV shows based on its titles.
That's why Nick Fury Jr. (who looks a lot like Samuel L. Jackson) has replaced his father, the TVA now closely resembles what we saw in Loki, and why an upcoming Wonder Man comic is taking Simon Williams back to Hollywood.
This is nothing new, and can't be blamed on Marvel Studios. Way back in the early 2000s, the Marvel Universe's Peter Parker gained organic web-shooters because that was the case in Sony Pictures and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies.
Marvel Comics also typically re-releases trade paperbacks used as a basis for upcoming adaptations. Two of those are arriving right in time for this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the solicitation text for Punisher: Confederacy Of Dunces by Garth Ennis and John McCrea confirms that Mark Ruffalo will return as The Hulk in the movie.
We saw him on set and in a leaked trailer, of course, but Ruffalo denied his involvement while promoting Crime 101 this month, so now we can fully confirm his MCU return as Bruce Banner.
The Punisher takes on Marvel's greatest heroes! Jon Bernthal will return as the Punisher alongside Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in theaters July 31, 2026!
Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. And the Best There Is, Wolverine. Alone, each of them has been made to look a fool by the Punisher. But now, these three heroes have banded together with the aim of finally bringing Frank Castle's killing spree to an end. And things go from bad to worse when the Incredible Hulk shows up! But whose side will the green goliath be on? The Punisher's days as a lethal vigilante may be numbered, but don't count him out yet. This is his book, after all — and when Garth Ennis writes Frank, anything can happen!
Also getting a reprint this July is Spider-Man: The Other, which is accompanied by the reminder that, "Tom Holland will return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in theaters July 31, 2026!"
Why the connection? Well, the movie's leaked trailer has shown the hero in a web cocoon and using organic webbing. "The Other" featured Spider-Man's death at Morlun's hands. He was ultimately resurrected after emerging from, you guessed it, a web cocoon.
The story—by Peter David, Reginald Hudlin, J. Michael Straczynski, Joe Quesada, Pat Lee, Mike Wieringo, and Mike Deodato Jr.—took a deep dive into the supernatural side of Spidey's powers, and we'd be on it inspiring Spider-Man: Brand New Day in some way.
The startling story that turned the wall-crawler's world upside down! Haunted by unsettling dreams. Disturbed by a growing sense of dread. Convinced that people are out to get him. Spider-Man faces his biggest threat yet — a foe so insidious he can't hope to handle it alone. With friends like Reed Richards, Stephen Strange and Hank Pym, he won't have to. But can even the world's greatest minds change the course of fate? And if they could, would they dare?
Having finally accepted his fate, Peter Parker decides to put the red and blue tights in the closet and spend some quality time with Aunt May and MJ. But the deadly Morlun has other plans! Beaten to the edge of death by the one foe he has never defeated, hovering in a place short of heaven or hell, Spidey must embark on a journey unlike anything he's ever experienced. Collecting Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #525-528, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005) #1-4 and Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004) #19-22.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton directs Spider-Man: Brand New Day from a script by returning Spider-Man franchise writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Tom Holland plays Spider-Man in a cast that also includes Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Zendaya (MJ), Sadie Sink, Michael Mando (The Scorpion), Tramell Tillman, Marvin Jones III (Tombstone), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), and Liza Colón-Zayas. Avengers: Doomsday star Florence Pugh is expected to reprise her Thunderbolts* role as Yelena Belova.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.