Because of Israel? Mark Ruffalo disappeared from the Marvel campaign
The Hollywood star who plays a significant role in "Spider-Man: New Day" did not participate in interviews and did not attend the premieres of the new Marvel film. The main explanation combines schedule constraints and a fear that he would spoil the plot as he has done in the past, but online there are questions about whether his statements against Israel also caused the producers to "erase" Ruffalo from the film's promotions. We have sorted out the rumors.
While Tom Holland, Zendaya, and the other stars of Spider-Man: New Day are busy with talk shows, red carpets, and fan events around the world, one of the biggest names in the cast of the film that hit theaters this week is completely absent from the celebration. Mark Ruffalo, who returns to play the Hulk (Bruce Banner) in a significant role, has not yet given a single major promotional interview and did not attend the premieres of the new Marvel film.
The main assessment is that Marvel is concerned about his known tendency to reveal spoilers, but a more sensitive theory has also emerged online: that the producers preferred to keep one of Hollywood's most prominent voices against Israel and in favor of the Palestinians away from the cameras. Marvel's PR campaigns are usually well-timed operations in which almost every cast member has a defined role. In recent weeks, Tom Holland and Zendaya have been moving between fan events, talk shows, and premieres, while the rest of the stars, including Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink, Michael Mando, the film's director Destin Daniel Cretton, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, have participated in a long series of interviews. Ruffalo, by contrast, has not been seen in a single one.
The absence was particularly noticeable in a major article published this week by Entertainment Weekly ahead of the film's release. Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon were interviewed together, Pascal spoke about the future of Spider-Man, and other articles included Feige, Sink, and other cast members. Even at the big premiere in Los Angeles, which almost all the major names attended, the star did not walk the red carpet and did not appear in the group photo.
So far, there is no official report regarding the reason for Ruffalo's absence from the film's promotions, but the main assessment among fans and various entertainment sites is that Marvel is simply not willing to entrust him with a microphone. Ruffalo has a long and glorious history of getting into trouble with spoilers: in 2017, he forgot to turn off an Instagram live stream and broadcast the first minutes of Thor: Ragnarok from the premiere to his followers. Ahead of the release of Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, he even stated in an interview that everyone dies, before Don Cheadle, who was sitting next to him, tried to stop him.
Marvel and Ruffalo have over the years turned his inability to keep a secret into an ongoing joke. When asked last year why he was not included in the cast announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, he joked that the studio decided it was better to get rid of him before he revealed the end of the film. Given that his role in New Day is much larger than a short cameo, and likely touches on parts that Marvel and Sony wanted to keep secret, this is also the explanation that currently seems most likely.
And yet, a total absence from every interview and every premiere seems unusual even in Ruffalo's case. Tom Holland has also developed a reputation over the years as a spoiler-spreader, and Marvel solved the problem by pairing him with more experienced actors, pre-coordinated questions, and recorded interviews. This gap led to another theory, which concerns Ruffalo's political views. The actor, one of the most prominent pro-Palestinian voices in Hollywood, called for a ceasefire in Gaza, accused Israel of genocide, signed a letter against silencing actors who support the Palestinians, and pledged not to work with Israeli film institutions involved in genocide and apartheid — and even promoted the Palestinian film Palestine 36.
In 2021, even before October 7 and the war, he apologized for the claim that Israel is committing genocide, which he defined as inaccurate and as something used to justify antisemitism, but in 2025 he effectively retracted his apology and described what is happening in Gaza as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Alongside his statements about Israel, Ruffalo is also a vocal critic of Donald Trump and American immigration policy. Last January, he arrived at the Golden Globe Awards with a protest pin against the activities of immigration authorities and said that what he sees in the United States today is not America. He has also spoken out in favor of abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and participated in political campaigns against the Trump administration.
A simpler and more grounded explanation may also be found in the star's schedule. At the beginning of July, filming began for the second season of Task, the HBO crime drama in which Ruffalo stars and serves as an executive producer. Filming got underway just as the international promotional tour for New Day shifted into high gear, although it has not been confirmed that this is the cause of his absence. And yet, even the schedule does not necessarily explain why Ruffalo did not give a single recorded interview or participate in a single video call. It is possible that the full explanation is simply a combination of all three factors.
