Ang Lee's Hulk, starring Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, may have been unevenly received, but it's still an interesting look into modern pre-MCU Marvel movies that's worth a watch for fans of the character. Hulk (2003) is not on Disney+ as it was not made by Disney or Marvel Studios.
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.
Summary. The official timeline for The Incredible Hulk disregards any connection to the previous Hulk movie, Ang Lee's Hulk. The events of The Incredible Hulk take place in 2010, five years after Bruce Banner's first transformation into the Hulk.
Is there any references (direct or vague) to Hulk 2003 in the Incredible Hulk? It was originally written as a sequel, but during rewrites (mostly by Edward Norton), connections were severed.
As much as it may be hard to believe, despite not receiving a direct sequel, The Incredible Hulk is indeed canon in the larger scheme of the MCU. The contents and storyline of the film are referenced in subtle ways throughout the MCU films over the years.
The Incredible Hulk debuted in the bimonthly series The Incredible Hulk in May 1962. The character was created for Marvel Comics by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
Universal Pictures actually owns the rights to any movies focusing solely on Hulk, predating Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel Studios, meaning that Universal has the right of first refusal to distribute any solo Hulk movies.
Mark Ruffalo says another standalone Hulk movie would be too expensive. “I'd love to do a standalone Hulk, I just don't think that's ever going to happen,” the actor said, going on to add that bringing the Hulk to life is a costly endeavor.
When they were acquired by Disney, though, they gained the House of Mouse's own distribution channels. And there was no way Disney would pay to produce The Incredible Hulk 2, but allow Universal to profit from the distribution.
Because back when Marvel was about to go bankrupt, they sold the movie Rights of certain characters to different companies. Spider-Man went to Sony, Hulk went to Universal, and X-Men, Fantastic 4, Ghost Rider and Blade went to Fox. Why doesn't Marvel buy back the rights for Spider-Man?
After the accidental death of his wife, David Banner is arrested and locked away in a mental hospital, while 4-year old Bruce is sent into foster care and adopted, taking on the last name of Krenzler, and believing both his biological parents to be deceased.
All the Hulks are said to be about 9′ tall… except the 2003 Hulk changed size based on his anger level. So, while his base-size is comparable to the others, when he got into a rage he would grow to 15′-16′ tall. So 2003 Hulk ( when in a rage ) is the tallest live action Hulk to date.
A planned sequel which would have been released in May 2005 was repurposed as a reboot titled The Incredible Hulk and released on June 13, 2008, as the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The simple answer? Marvel Studios doesn't own the distribution rights for solo Hulk movies, and they don't want to pay another company to distribute the movies when that company isn't going to be providing any effort in making the movie.
The premise of this question is wrong. The Incredible Hulk (2008) is considered a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Notice how Bruce Banner referenced his grudge match in Harlem in Avengers (2012) and how in Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross returned to play a part in Civil War and Infinity War.
Back in 2003, the top-of-the-line CGI still wasn't good enough to pull off an ultra-realistic Hulk, something that Hulk actor Josh Lucas has even admitted. While more money may have made the CGI slightly better, the subject and time period mean that it was doomed to suffer.
David Banner extracts the bio-luminescence properties from jellyfish, implied to be why the Hulk is green. But bio-luminescence isn't about having green skin, it's the ability to emit light from your skin, and the Hulk's skin doesn't glow, not even in the dark, and all he has is skin with green pigment.
The second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is The Incredible Hulk, which was released in 2008. The film introduced a new backstory for the Hulk to differentiate it from the 2003 movie, Actor Edward Norton played the role of the green hulk, and his alter ego Bruce Banner.
