Despite wanting the Hulk to appear in Captain America: Brave New World, now I’ve seen it, I’m actually glad the MCU film doesn’t feature the character. With the MCU timeline currently in a countdown of sorts to the next Avengers movie after Avengers: Endgame, Marvel’s upcoming movies and shows have more of a spotlight on them in terms of how they set up for the future with Avengers: Doomsday in sight. This is especially pressing for characters who we haven’t seen in a long time, of which there are still currently a considerable number.

One of the biggest characters to have remained off-screen in the mainline MCU is that of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, who is not only one of the franchise’s original Avenger roster, but also one of the MCU’s most powerful – and most underutilized – characters. Due to this second factor, I was initially hopeful that the movie’s story might contain another appearance from our favorite green monster, especially as the franchise begins to more tangibly setup for the new Avengers. That said, after watching Captain America: Brave New World, I’m convinced it’s for the best the Hulk didn’t make a guest appearance.

Captain America: Brave New World Bringing Back Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk Previously Seemed A Good Idea Based On Its Plot And Cast

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With the Hulk having been off-screen for multiple years now for the main MCU timeline, Captain America: Brave New World seemed to offer a potentially perfect place for the character to make a return. When the news of the movie’s cast announcements began to emerge, this concept was only reinforced, as we learned both that The Leader would be returning for the first time after his transformation in The Incredible Hulk, and that Thunderbolt Ross would be becoming President and then taking on the Red Hulk form.

With Brave New World looking to serve as a sort of quasi Incredible Hulk sequel, it seemed to make sense that the hero these characters were associated with would make some sort of appearance in the movie, if only because the joint resentment both Ross and Samuel Sterns have for the character could’ve easily explained a potential prior or current alliance between them. Indeed, since there had been prior plans for Red Hulk to potentially appear in Captain America: Civil War, it stood to reason the MCU could wish to capitalize on any ideas about the Hulk and Red Hulk meeting at this point in time instead.

The Hulk has appeared more recently in What If…? season 3, but this was an alternate universe version of the character.

However, these cast announcements came hand-in-hand with reports that neither the Hulk nor Bruce Banner would appear in the film. While this could’ve ended up another surprise cameo fakeout – in the same vein as Spider-Man: No Way Home trying to hide Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s returns, or Deadpool & Wolverine hiding the likes of Dafne Keen’s return as Laura for some time – Brave New World’s release revealed this was not the case for this film, and not without good reason.

Captain America: Brave New World’s Story Explains Why Neither Bruce Banner Nor The Hulk Appear In The Movie

First and foremost, Captain America: Brave New World already runs with a story and cast list big enough to barely have room for itself. With a range of characters who all need their development, several villains to fight, several twists to uncover, and at least one major battle in the sky, bundling the Hulk into the already stuffed series of events would’ve arguably hampered both the character and the movie, since bringing either the Hulk or just Banner in his human form in without exploring his ties to the Leader, Red Hulk, and Betty Brant would’ve made him appearing weirder than leaving him out entirely.

Similarly, even if the movie had been able to find a way to bring the Hulk into the events that unfold in a natural way, it would’ve been almost impossible to do so without overshadowing some of the main story threads with a major Marvel hero’s presence. For example, Thunderbolt Ross’ complicated bond with his daughter is one of the focal points of the narrative – and while it’s informed by the fact Ross turned on Betty’s former partner, Bruce Banner, the Hulk not being present in the movie means the story can center on the two side characters themselves easier.

As it stands, I think tampering with this by introducing a bigger character would’ve hurt a point of the film that’s not only crucial, but already criticized for it’s somewhat questionable narrative handling in terms of giving Ross and Betty a relationship that’s given the perhaps cliché in-universe symbol of sakura trees almost solely so a blossom can soothe the Red Hulk. Similarly, with the movie’s villains – the Leader, Sidewinder, and Red Hulk – already having to vie for space, adding in a hero who would require more villain time from at least the Leader could’ve been ill-advised.

I’m Glad The MCU Saved Its Next Hulk Appearance For A Later Date

It’s no secret that the Hulk has had one of the more complicated paths in the MCU, as the franchise has effectively sidelined one of its most powerful and popular heroes for the majority of his on-screen history. Mark Ruffalo’s version of the character has never had his own solo movie or show, despite over a decade in the MCU and the franchise having now had a She-Hulk series dedicated to the origin story of his cousin Jennifer Walters. This makes how other releases handle his overall arc all the more crucial, especially with many of his biggest plotlines unexplored.

Since the character’s narrative has been primarily told through the backgrounds of other movies and shows, it’s paramount that every appearance means something important to his story on some level. As such, choosing to keep him out of even seemingly obvious cameo placements when it suits the MCU best does sometimes make sense, and it indeed appears to here.

Though this means it will have been longer since we’ve seen the green giant – and longer still since he was part of the MCU’s central storyline – this ultimately may be a fair exchange versus the franchise providing an underwhelming return for one of Marvel’s biggest characters. As it stands, the Hulk first returning potentially in Avengers: Doomsday or even Avengers: Secret Wars looks like it may pay more dividends for the character than if he’d appeared in Captain America: Brave New World, particularly since much of the Hulk story has been communicated throughout the previous Avengers movies to begin with.