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Audiences will soon see how writer-director Joss Whedon has done with the character of the Hulk in The Avengers this weekend, but early reviews have been very positive about Whedon's use of the "enormous green rage monster." Mark Ruffalo, the third actor to play the role of Dr. Bruce Banner and the first to play his alter ego in motion capture, recently admitted that he would "love" to make a solo Hulk movie, but Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige was more practical. "I love that people are saying that and are feeling that way about Hulk, but mission accomplished at this point," said Feige of a possible Hulk sequel.
Feige may be cautious about another outing, but another Marvel executive, Paul Gitter, isn't. The President of Consumer Products for North America told Forbes that the studio has been "pleasantly surprised by the phenomenal response" to the Hulk, and that Marvel plans to "spin him off to a stand-alone TV program next year," followed by a big-budget franchise movie in 2015. Guess when you have a movie that almost makes back your $220 million budget in just five days of release in only 70% of foreign markets, strategies have a tendency to change.
more about Iron man 3 and Thor 2 >> Posted 04.30.12 by Ryan -
The movie doesn't open for a few weeks, but the The Avengers is already receiving positive word-of-mouth, especially for writer-director Joss Whedon's use of the Hulk. (This is the first movie appearance for the Marvel character since 2008's The Incredible Hulk and the third since 2003's Hulk — with Mark Ruffalo being the third actor to play the role.)
So far Marvel has three solo movies planned for the Avengers team: 2013's Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 and 2014's Captain America 2. However, there are no plans for another solo Hulk movie. For his part, Ruffalo told IGN that he would "love" to make another Hulk movie.
Why not! It was the one character — you know, I was a comic book fan when I was a kid and I always loved the Hulk. When The Incredible Hulk, that [TV] show, came on, I would not miss that. And so if I was going to find myself in that world, this would be the guy that I would be most interested in doing. To make a very short answer long: Yeah, I'd love to have him do his own movie.
what are marvel's plans for Hulk? >> Posted 04.17.12 by Ryan -
Mark Ruffalo has yet to take over the role of Dr. Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk, in the upcoming Marvel adaptation of The Avengers, and has already been asked about whether there will be another sequel movie to follow 2008's The Incredible Hulk. Last October, Ruffalo revealed Marvel had several future projects lined up, and teased that "possibly there will be a Hulk movie" amongst those projects. Tim Blake Nelson, who played Dr. Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk, also revealed that he was still contracted for more Marvel movies and could return as the Hulk nemesis The Leader if Marvel makes a Hulk sequel.
In a recent interview with Total Film, Ruffalo explained that another Hulk depends on the success of The Avengers.
Ruffalo wonders "How old is the Hulk supposed to be?" >> Posted 03.22.11 by Ryan -
In 2008's The Incredible Hulk, while the transformation of Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) into his villainous alter ego the Leader was only hinted at, it seemed to promise that Nelson would appear in a subsequent sequel. Nelson told The Playlist that he is contracted for more Marvel movies.
I am, but it's a question as to whether they'll make more movies, which was the [original] intention, or whether they'll take a fresh start with the villains, since they switched Bruce Banner to Mark Ruffalo. I certainly very much want to return as the Leader and I hope they'll have me. The intention was that I would come back, which is why my head starts to, um, bubble, at the end. It’s just a question as to whether a) they're going to make more Hulk movies, and b) because of Ruffalo, if they're going to use me again.
Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton for the upcoming The Avengers, and recently admitted that another Hulk was "possible."
Posted 10.29.10 by Ryan -
Marvel Studios is nothing if not ambitious. When the studio decided to begin self-producing their own comic book movie adaptations, they looked around and found that most of their marquee characters—Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men—had already been licensed to other studios. Undaunted, Marvel took the B-list comic book character of Iron Man and turned him into one of the most popular and successful screen superheroes of all time. Marvel is currently in post-production on Thor, in production on Captain America: The First Avenger and in pre-production on its most ambitious movie to date, the super-team movie The Avengers, which will bring together all of the heroes from the other movies to face one colossal threat. Actor Mark Ruffalo, who recently joined the cast of The Avengers as the new Hulk (taking over for Edward Norton), said that there's the possibility that a new solo Hulk movie could also be coming down the pike, and that The Avengers might not be the culmination of Marvel's movie plans, but the start of a whole series of super-team movies.
They set up several pictures over a couple of years and possibly there will be a Hulk movie. There'll probably be a couple more Avengers too, which would be fun.
Posted 10.06.10 by BrentJS -
There were rumblings for some time that actor Edward Norton might be replaced as Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, in future Marvel Studios projects, but it still caused a wave of panic among some dedicated fans when it was finally announced that he would not be asked to return. In fact, an Internet petition that sprang up in support of Norton's return generated nearly 10,000 signatures before it was finally announced at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) that Mark Ruffalo would be taking over the role.
Joss Whedon, the writer-director chosen to unite Marvel's movie franchises in the upcoming super-team movie The Avengers, seemed confident in the decision, saying that Ruffalo was his "first and only choice" for the role. Now, fellow Marvel Studios director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) has weighed in on the change in Hulks, telling IGN that "it's tricky" from a practical standpoint to change actors in major movie franchises.
what did favreau say about switching actors? >> Posted 07.28.10 by BrentJS -
Considering the San Diego Comic-Con, the largest and most important comic book and related media convention in America, opens in just one week's time, it's not surprising that there's been a flood of recent comic book movie news. Of the bunch, the story that has really dominated the headlines of late has been the controversy surrounding the quest for a new actor to portray Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, in Marvel's upcoming super-team movie The Avengers. According to Deadline, that quest may be at an end, with none other than Mark Ruffalo climbing into Banner's gigantic purple pants.
Ruffalo in running, but is he fan enough for the movie? >> Posted 07.15.10 by BrentJS -
Only days ago, Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige confirmed that Edward Norton would not be reprising the role of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, in Marvels' upcoming super-team movie, The Avengers, and already another actor is rumored to be up for the role. According to CHUD, "reliable sources" have revealed that Marvel has made an offer to Joaquin Phoenix to step into the role of the gamma-irradiated goliath in The Avengers and in a possible sequel to The Incredible Hulk.
MORE >> Posted 07.12.10 by BrentJS -
Apparently, when it comes to negotiating a contract, you don't play hardball with Marvel Studios. Just ask Terrence Howard, who found that out the hard way when he was quickly replaced with Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2 after a contract dispute. Now, another actor who brought a Marvel superhero to life on screen has been unceremoniously ousted after squabbling with Marvel over money.
This past weekend, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige confirmed to HitFix that Edward Norton would be replaced as Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, in the upcoming Marvel super-team movie The Avengers. In Feige's statement, he said that Norton did not share the "creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members." Now, Norton's agent has fired back a response to Feige's incendiary statement in what is becoming known in comic book fan circles as "Nortongate."
what did norton's rep have to say? >> Posted 07.12.10 by BrentJS -
Director Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk was generally well received by comic book fans, but struggled to find a wider audience, only making back its $150 million budget when taking into account foreign ticket sales. The movie's lackluster performance alone makes it unlikely that Marvel Studios will ever pull the trigger on a sequel, but Leterrier recently offered up another reason why The Incredible Hulk 2 might never get made.
read why Hulk 2 'wouldn't make sense' >> Posted 04.14.10 by BrentJS