Back in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, one of the more fondly remembered movies of the franchise. But that year also saw Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk hit cinemas, an outing that often comes near the bottom of MCU rankings.
One of the lowest-grossing MCU movies, Norton was set to reprise Bruce Banner in 2012’s Avengers Assemble, but was replaced for the rest of the franchise by Mark Ruffalo.
It turns out that Norton had a vision for a Hulk movie similar in tone to Christopher Nolan’s Batman, but ultimately he feels he didn’t get that.
Speaking with Total Film, the 50-year-old said: “The Hulk was… I felt sad that what [director] Louis [Leterrier] and I set out to do, in terms of taking more of a Chris Nolan approach to making something that was a little more dark and serious, they ended up sort of neutering.
“I wanted to make a big CGI movie and learn and see stuff.”
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To be fair Norton has a point. While some Marvel fans defend The Incredible Hulk, it’s really quite dull and humourless; the exact opposite of what the MCU is and has become over the last 20 or so movies.
If anything it’s difficult for a character like the Hulk, who doesn’t talk except in later movies, to carry his own solo film – something Ang Lee’s Hulk in 2003 also struggled with.
But luckily, Ruffalo has proven worthy of the role with four Avengers movies and Thor Ragnarok under his belt.
Back in 2016, Marvel boss Kevin Feige revealed: “Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk portrayal set a lot of things right in a way that made us all very happy.”
While in 2010 the Marvel head told HitFix his reason for the recasting.
He said: “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.”
Avengers Endgame is out now.