Credit: Marvel StudiosIt has been nearly 20 years since The Incredible Hulk (2008) first introduced Bruce Banner to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but one of the film’s stars says he’s glad it took so long because he needed to build up “rage and pathos” over the years.
The Incredible Hulk holds a peculiar place in the history of the MCU. It was the second movie in the franchise, following Iron Man (2008), and codified elements like the shared universe conceit of the series by having Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) show up at the end of the film to chat with General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (the late William Hurt).
At the same time, it has always been a bit of an odd duck for the series, being the only film to star Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and for the lack of a follow-up solo Hulk film.
Since then, Mark Ruffalo has replaced Edward Norton and become one of the longest-tenured actors in the MCU, the savage Hulk has become the mild-mannered Smart Hulk, we’ve been introduced to his cousin Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), and still never gotten a sequel.
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While Kevin Feige and Bob Iger will seemingly never sign off on a proper Hulk sequel (which, according to Mark Ruffalo, is a budget thing), fans are finally getting something close to it in Captain America: Brave New World, the upcoming movie starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson his first solo turn as the titular patriotic hero.
While it has not been reported that Bruce Banner will show up (though that won’t be a surprise), Brave New World has been confirmed to feature three characters from The Incredible Hulk.
The movie will prominently feature Thunderbolt Ross (now President and portrayed by Harrison Ford), his daughter Betty (a returning Liv Tyler), and Samuel Sterns, AKA the Leader (Tim Blake Nelson). Although Nelson’s character was relatively minor in Incredible Hulk, this new Captain America film seems to be featuring him as the central villain behind a massive political plot.
In Marvel Comics, Samuel Sterns was a janitor who was exposed to gamma radiation and became a vastly intelligent supervillain, much as Bruce Banner became a super-strong rage monster.
In the MCU, in contrast, the Tim Blake Nelson version of the character was a scientist who became infected by Banner’s blood while being forced to give Hulk-like powers to Emil Blonsky; while the Abomination has shown up in other MCU projects, this will be Nelson’s first time back in the franchise.
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According to a new interview with Screen Rant, Tim Blake Nelson actually feels that’s for the best. While he was at one point “despairing” of never returning to the MCU, it seems that he feels he could not have done the character justice without the years of stress and anger since his first appearance, which is actually very Hulk-like.
Screen Rant: So excited to see you back. I’ll say, fans kind of gave up on maybe Samuel coming back into the MCU. How does it feel to know that you are back and can talk about it?
Tim Blake Nelson: I have to say that I had given up on coming back as well, and not without a tremendous amount of despair. But I’m glad it took this long because the character I [play], actually, I think demands my own life experience over the past 18 years. Because there’s a real depth and rage and pathos to this guy, and I needed 18 more years of life experience to try and pull that off.
Brave New World is currently scheduled to land in theaters in February 2025, though it has been delayed numerous times (as well as retitled and facing a potential boycott) since it was first announced. Hopefully, Tim Blake Nelson won’t have to wait too much longer to be back as the Leader.
Who’s your favorite Hulk villain?