![]() ![]() ![]() The biggest change, really, would have been a perceptual one The Incredible Hulk would have felt like a "proper," integrated part of the MCU rather than an orphan, even if it still wouldn't be on Disney+ because of the aforementioned distribution rights. Tyler may well have returned to the MCU a couple of times as Betty Ross, but it would only ever have been in cameos, perhaps with Bruce meeting with her just before he was recruited by Black Widow in The Avengers. Granted, if Bruce Banner had a preexisting love interest in the MCU, it's possible Joss Whedon wouldn't have come up with the unpopular Hulk-Black Widow romance storyline in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Disney prioritize Marvel properties where they own exclusive distribution rights, which are of more significant financial importance, while Universal don't seem particularly inclined to play ball with their rival studios.Īll this means, as the story of the MCU continued, the impact of Ruffalo's debut in The Incredible Hulk would have become less with each film. That wasn't an issue back in 2008, because Marvel didn't have any distribution network of their own, but they gained access to Disney's when they were acquired by the House of Mouse in 2009. The distribution rights to the Hulk are actually owned by Universal, not Marvel. Even if it had been more commercially successful, though, Marvel wouldn't have made more solo Hulk movies. It's impossible to say whether or not Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk would have been more successful than Norton's while the script would have been very different, it probably wouldn't have been different enough to become a hit on the scale of Iron Man. Related: The MCU Just Confirmed Hulk's Endgame Snap Was Harder Than Thanos'īut how would the MCU have played out had Leterrier had his way over a decade ago, casting Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner? There's no way to view these alternate timelines in the real world, but it's likely the MCU would have been subtly different. It's actually not the first time Marvel did this a recent in-universe book called The Wakanda Files included an image with Ruffalo's Banner standing next to Liv Tyler's Betty Ross, but the change in the animated series is much more notable. It leads to an interesting moment in which Banner stands alongside forgotten Phase 1 character Betty Ross, the Hulk's classic love interest in the comics and from the movie. The clear implication is that everything in that film played out just the same, but Banner had a different face, voice, and mannerisms. Still, it’s always good for a release order re-watch.Marvel recast Norton, of course, and Marvel's What If.? episode 3 has gone one step further by placing Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner into the story of The Incredible Hulk. But if this were released in phase four, it would’ve been right in the middle of the films given the up and down quality phase four has brought to the MCU. If a film of this quality were released in phases two or three, it would easily be near the bottom of those phases (“Thor: The Dark World” is still objectively worse). He returned in both “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” And we are expected to see more from the Samuel Sterns character going forward as he transitions into the villain, The Leader.Īs we approach 30 movies in the MCU, “The Incredible Hulk” is definitely a mid-tier movie for me and a lower-tier movie for some others. Tim Roth’s performance as the Abomination was well praised at the time and still looks great. With William Hurt’s passing, they could’ve retired that character, but instead, Ross has been re-cast with Harrison Ford taking up the mantle. Thunderbolt Ross has returned many times throughout the MCU. While the film may have lost its luster in the intervening years, some parts of this film have endured. ![]() Norton is an amazing actor, but Ruffalo is a better fit for the character. It’s not because Norton was bad at playing the Hulk, it’s because Mark Ruffalo, who replaced Norton after disagreements with the executives at Marvel, is better at playing the Hulk. I also think Norton’s performance doesn’t age well. On subsequent re-watches, I’ve been able to see the flaws that lead others to not like it. It wasn’t as good as “Iron Man,” but it served its purpose well. This film is not as fondly remembered as other early MCU films, but I remember enjoying it when I saw it in theaters in 2008. But this, sometimes forgotten, film is an important step in that journey. Released just weeks after “Iron Man,” it was unclear what the MCU would become. Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner in this film that glosses over this backstory. The 2008 film was the second film in what we now call the MCU. The last film of phase one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally makes its way to Disney+ as “The Incredible Hulk” has been added to the service. ![]()
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