Credit: Marvel StudiosRecently, Mark Ruffalo opened up about his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the potential of a Hulk solo film. Unfortunately, it seems that there may be someone in his way from ever getting that movie.
Related: ‘Deadpool 3’ Isn’t Saving the MCU
In his recently viral interview at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo spoke about his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Naturally, the interviewer wanted to know when he would finally get to headline his own movie as the iconic hero. Unfortunately, it looks like this may never happen.
“Kevin [Feige asks], ‘What would you like to do?’ He said ‘What would you do if you had a standalone Hulk movie?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’d like to take him from this raging maniac to sort of this integrated character.'”
Related: ‘Captain America 4’ Actor Speaks Out on Replacing Anthony Mackie as Reshoots Start Soon
“And he’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll do that over the course of four movies. We’ll never give you a standalone Hulk…’ Let’s just get that… Don’t mean to burst your bubble, but that’s not happening. So we’ll do it over four movies.”
This is particularly strange because World War Hulk (TBA) has been on Marvel Studios’ release slate for quite a while, so why would Kevin Feige want to put off the film, especially when there are so many different Hulks to explore, including the rumored Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
Mark Ruffalo Has Never Had a Standalone Hulk Film
Even though Mark Ruffalo has been the most prolific actor ever to play the Incredible Hulk, he has never starred in a film about the character. Instead, he has been regulated to more of a supporting or ensemble status in projects like The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), What If…?, and the Disney+ mini-series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law starring Tatiana Maslany.
That doesn’t mean other actors haven’t portrayed the iconic green hero. There was a television series in the late ’70s and early ’80s starring Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, the Ang Lee-directed Hulk (2003) starred Eric Bana, and the Marvel Studios film The Incredible Hulk (2008) starred Edward Norton, who has since been banned from appearing in the MCU.
Related: ‘The Marvels’ Pulls a 180 on Disney+
If any actor in the MCU deserves an entire movie starring them, it’s Mark Ruffalo. Not only is he an original Avenger, but Bruce Banner is a fascinating character, something that Ruffalo could really dig into. Hopefully, this turns out not to be true, and we get to see World War Hulk sooner rather than later.
Do you want a standalone Hulk film? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!