Mark Ruffalo confirms that there are no plans for a standalone Hulk movie – but rights issues have made this known for years.
A few headlines have popped up overnight, courtesy of actor Mark Ruffalo’s appearance at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival over the weekend. The Oscar-nominated actor was on stage nattering to moderator Anne Thompson, and the conversation turned to matters of Marvel.
Before we get to that, just to acknowledge that this wasn’t a Marvel event, and that Ruffalo has been Oscar-nominated for his turn in the richly-acclaimed filth-fest, Poor Things.
On the Marvel front, then, Mark Ruffalo gave a strong indication – well, he said yes – that he’d be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. A clarification issued after the event confirmed that he wasn’t in the film after all. Ruffalo had felt he was just being asked if it was an upcoming Marvel movie, not whether he was in it or not.
Then, he confirmed to the audience that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige had confirmed to him that there will not be a standalone Bruce Banner/Hulk movie under the Marvel banner. This is being reported in some places as if it’s some kind of shock, but it’s been pretty well known for years that – courtesy of the deal Marvel Studios struck with Universal for Hulk rights over 20 years ago, there are restrictions in place. That Marvel can use the character in its films as freely as it likes, but it has to offer Universal distribution should it opt for an outright Hulk film.
Ruffalo told how Kevin Feige asked him what he’d do if he had a standalone Hulk movie. “I’d like to take him from this raging maniac to this integrated character”, Ruffalo told him. Feige’s reply? “We’ll do that over the course of four movies”, confirming that “we’ll never give you a standalone Hulk”.
He’s been as good as his word, there.
Presumably, Mark Ruffalo will return as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the future. For now,
