The debut trailer for Captain America: Brave New World has teased the introduction of Red Hulk into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The trailer, below, shows off Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader, and Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
But it’s the glimpse at Red Hulk at the end of the trailer that’s sure to set fans’ tongues wagging on what this means for the film and the MCU going forward.
The trailer sets up the story, which begins with Thaddeus Ross calling in Sam Wilson with a proposal: make Captain America an official tool of the U.S. military. Clearly that doesn’t sit well with Sam, as other players, including Leader, have their say on world events. There’s plenty of action, too, as Sam shows off his new powers of flight. Thaddeus Ross has some choice words for Sam at one point, pointing out he’s not Steve Rogers. Sam agrees.
And then, at the end of the trailer, we see Red Hulk catch Captain America’s famous shield and slam it into the ground. It looks like Sam ends up in a fight with Red Hulk, which feels like it would be a one-sided fight, but there’s of course plenty Marvel is holding back.
Leaks had indicated Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross was destined to transform into a very large, very CG monster, which this trailer now confirms. Captain America: Brave New World may be based at least in part on the various Hulk comic storylines that ran between 2008 and 2010, several of which which prominently featured Red Hulk. Some fans have even gone so far as to speculate that this might secretly be a Hulk movie, or even Mark Ruffalo’s swan song in the MCU.
Marvel also released the first poster for Captain America: Brave New World, which hits theaters February 14, 2025. Check it out below:
The trailer also confirms Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito is in the movie. In May, reports indicated Captain America: Brave New World was undergoing reshoots to help introduce Esposito’s new character, reportedly a villain, into the fold.
The actor had expressed interest in playing X-Men leader Professor Xavier in the past, but it wasn’t until May that he confirmed he would be officially joining the MCU in a mystery role. Esposito even went as far as to say that the role is “better than you can imagine” when speaking to fans, later confirming that his character will go on to get their own TV series.
In the meantime, you can read up on the return of Tim Blake Nelson’s character, The Leader, and learn more about the movie’s leaked villain.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.