Marvel fans have realized that Mark Ruffalo's MCU hero Bruce Banner hasn't transformed into The Incredible Hulk on-screen in over 13 years, and we're getting a little worried that we may never see him turn from human to Hulk again.
One fan took to Reddit to discuss the first and last time we saw Rufallo's Bruce 'hulk-out' on screen, which was in the 2012 movie, The Avengers. "It's actually kinda insane to think about the fact that this moment was 13 years ago," replied one fan. Another said, "Damn, that's kinda crazy when you realize it. It's like if they only had a single on-screen instance of Iron Man getting in or out of his suit."
In The Avengers, we got to see Bruce transform right in front of our eyes thanks to clever CGI. The hero has since shown up in projects such as Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, but still no transformation scene. In later projects, we usually see Bruce in one shot and then the Hulk in another, with the transformation taking place off camera.
Many fans seem to think that this may be due to budgeting issues. It's no secret that Marvel is trying to cut costs when it comes to editing, as one fan points out, "Honestly, Hulk transformations probably stand out as great scenes to cut if you wanna save a couple truckloads of money."
But just because Bruce has only transformed once in the MCU doesn't mean he won't again. Does it? We're not so sure as the original poster points out, "With Bruce still being in the whole Smart Hulk form and occasionally using a Hulk inhibitory device to return back to his human form, do you think we will get a similar Hulk-out scene anytime soon?"
However, it may not be too late as Ruffalo is currently filming for the upcoming Marvel movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It is not clear what part the Hulk will play in Tom Holland's fourth Spidey movie, but we do hope we get to see Bruce morph into the incredible hero.
Ruffalo is currently not set to return in Avengers: Doomsday, but his Avengers co-star Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is, as well as Robert Downey Jr., but the Iron Man star will this time take shape as the villain of the story, Doctor Doom.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026. For more, check out our guide on how to watch Marvel movies in order, and keep up with other upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way.
