Initially, fans were upset when Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton as the Hulk in The Avengers and beyond. Since then, Ruffalo has been eagerly accepted with open arms. 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. That’s still Universal’s property, so there’s that issue. That’s a big impediment to moving forward with that. Now I don’t think that’s insurmountable, by the way, but I don’t know where it’s going from here for me.”
Marvel still owns the rights to the character (hence why he can appear in The Avengers), but thanks to the Universal/Marvel team-up for the 2003 and 2008 Hulk films, Universal gets a cut of the profits from any Disney/Marvel standalone Hulk film.
There’s no knowing when the contracts runs up, but until then, don’t expect Ruffalo to get his own film.
President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, commented that Ruffalo’s Hulk will show up in Phase 3 films (which starts with Captain America: Civil War). While we won’t spoil it here, Bad*ss Digest revealed where the Hulk will be at the end of Age of Ultron.
Feige teased that the Hulk helps his friends in their own films in Phase 3. Could we see a version of Planet Hulk if he ends up in Guardians of the Galaxy 2? Or maybe he’ll cross paths with Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange or Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. Either way, you will see more of the big green guy, even if he doesn’t get his own film!
You’ll next see Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1st.
Do you want to see another solo Hulk film? Which Phase 3 films do you hope he’ll be in? Let us know in the comments!
