Why are Florence Pugh and Mark Ruffalo trending with the new Spider-Man movie?

More cameo news trending around 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' — this time Florence Pugh and Mark Ruffalo. What are their roles?

Florence Pugh appears in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" reprising her Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Yelena Belova, the assassin/anti-hero introduced in "Black Widow" and later part of the Thunderbolts team — her cameo is notable as one of the clearer threads tying the film into the wider MCU storyline heading toward "Avengers: Doomsday." Mark Ruffalo's connection is a bit more meta: reporting around the film's marketing joked about him "pretending he's not in Spider-Man" despite appearing in the trailer, referencing his long-running role as Bruce Banner/Hulk — his brief involvement has fueled speculation about how the Hulk and broader Avengers roster factor into the character's next arc. Separately (and not part of the Spider-Man film), Ruffalo also has a rare 2026 theatrical release coming via Apple TV — a drama called "Being Heumann" — which has been generating its own share of search interest around the same time.