As a result, Norton left the franchise badly and the studio was left without a Hulk until Mark Ruffalo took over the role in 2012, appearing in 'The Avengers'.
It's well known by now that Marvel scrapped all the follow-up plans it had for Norton continuing as Hulk. He was later replaced by Mark Ruffalo. Norton clashed with Marvel during the making of the film, with Leterrier saying that the movie's tone was perhaps the biggest point of contention.
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk. Ruffalo first appeared as Bruce Banner in 2012's The Avengers (taking over the role from Edward Norton), followed by supporting performances in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
After the mixed reception to Universal's 2003 film Hulk, Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to the character, though Universal retained distribution rights.
We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.
SKAAR: Son Of Hulk (2024) With Wil Deusner & Mark Ruffalo
Will Hulk become angry again?
With the introduction of Smart Hulk in Endgame, it seems like anger is no longer a factor in the Hulk's journey in the MCU. As he explained in the movie, he "put the brain and the brawn together." And in a strange way, it's a shame that the Hulk may never be able to go back to his iconic, angry self.
Ruffalo's future as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the MCU remains unclear. Variety recently clarified that Ruffalo will not be reprising the role in the upcoming Marvel tentpole “Captain America: Brave New World” after the actor misspoke at a recent Q&A.
The Hulk is a founding member of the Avengers, but quickly leaves the group due to their distrust of him. Banner maintains the secret of his dual identity with Rick's aid, but Rick reveals his secret following his assumed death, forcing Banner to become a fugitive.
With Banner's mind and Hulk's brawn, the Smart Hulk is just as strong as the regular Hulk and is even stronger because he can use his brains to increase his strength when he needs to.
A similar incident turns Jen into the titular superhero in She-Hulk, which not only sees Roth's Abomination return for a much larger role, but also introduces Bruce Banner/Hulk's son Skaar into the MCU. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law brought the total number of MCU Hulks to four: Bruce, She-Hulk, Abomination, and Skaar.
"Tony Stark's story is far from over," Downey said. "Iron Man 4 will explore new dimensions of the character and his legacy through the eyes of Morgan.
The Hulk disappeared at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron in a quinjet, not wanting to be a danger to anyone else or be used as a weapon. He willingly blasted off into space, and, given the large number of wormholes that led to Sakaar, his ship eventually landed on the Grandmaster's planet.
In a 2024 interview with GQ, Ruffalo stated that it's financially tricky for Marvel Studios to make a Hulk movie, saying that "it's very expensive if you did a whole movie, which is why they use the Hulk so sparingly." As valid and accurate as that statement is, there is also the matter of the Hulk distribution rights.
While Ruffalo has starred as Hulk in Marvel movies, the rights to the character are actually owned by Universal Pictures, predating Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel Studios, which means Universal has the right of first refusal to distribute any stand-alone Hulk movies.
So why hasn't he gotten his own solo film? Ruffalo revealed that, because Universal Pictures still has rights to solo Hulk films, he won't be getting a standalone anytime soon. He spoke to Collider about it: “As far as a Hulk movie, a standalone Hulk movie, Marvel doesn't really have the rights to that yet.
Another character that showed considerable growth was Bruce Banner/Hulk. However, the result of his arc left him physically weaker as the films progressed and raised many questions as to how such a change could occur for a character who is supposed to be the strongest there is.
You'll notice that his body size is smaller in Avengers: Endgame (2019) compared to the first Avengers (2012) movie. We are not sure what will trigger this, but it means that there will be an event that forces him to use a lot of his strength beyond what Professor Hulk can do.
The doctor transforms into the Hulk during moments of stress, anxiety, and most of all anger. The change can reverse itself if the Hulk reaches a state of calm, either by himself or through a special mantra utilized by his fellow Avengers, most notably Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.
Variety reported that multiple sources confirmed that Ruffalo will actually not be in Captain America 4. The actor misspoke, “thinking he was agreeing that Brave New World is one of Marvel's next films, not that he was going to be in it.”
Ruffalo's most recent appearance as Bruce Banner/The Hulk was in Disney+'s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in 2022. The series carried an eye-opening expense of $25 million per episode due to the high cost of the titular character's motion capture VFX and suffered production issues due to “half-baked scripts”.
Back in Phase 1, The Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton was replaced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with actor Mark Ruffalo, who recently opened up about the awkward situation.
Although he is an extremely skilled marksman, Clint Barton is often considered to be the weakest member of the team seeing as he's just a regular guy with a bow and arrow. That certainly means that Hawkeye one of the weakest Avengers.
