Just yesterday, I was browsing the Internet when I came across The Incredible Hulk Slot game. In that moment, I began to think about the breadth and the appeal of the Hulk character, and how Marvel has successfully turned him and similar superheroes into international brands and franchises.
With this in mind, it is worth noting that many Marvel fans have been holding their breath waiting for an announcement concerning a new Incredible Hulk film. After all, a revitalised Hulk and Bruce Banner stole the show in the Joss Whedon-directed Avengers, and many felt that the time has come for a new solo adventure.
In terms of a brief history, the Hulk’s appearances in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron came on the back of two failed solo instalments for the Jade Giant. Ed Norton failed to shine in the role, with many citing the portrayal of the Hulk’s alter ego Banner as a downtrodden and miserable character as a prominent reason for this. Whedon and actor Mark Ruffalo decideded to reinvent Banner as a character, giving him a more upbeat outlook and empowering someone who loved the Hulk’s work.
With this winning formula in mind, the desire to see a standalone Hulk movie has exploded in recent times. Even Ruffalo himself has expressed his interest in the project. However, while The Hulk is set to feature alongside Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok, hopes for a solo movie appear to have been dashed thanks to a recent interview that Ruffalo gave to Yahoo.
It appears as though the fragmented relationship between Marvel and Universal remains the main barrier to a film being produced. It is well known that these two creative studios do not get on, while the fact that Universal holds the rights to distribute future Hulk films is a major stumbling block for Disney and Marvel.
For now, it seems as though any dreams of a Hulk film must be placed on the back-burner. While this is a shame given the breakthrough that the characters of Hulk and Banner made during their last big screen excursions, fans should at least glean positives from the fact we’ll see the Green Goliath in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War, and while leading participants such as Ruffalo remain keen to work on a solo project, there is hope that one day the Hulk will return to dominate the Hollywood stage.
Originally published February 3, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
