Thor: Ragnarok
Mark Ruffalo has now play Bruce Banner in four movie ( counting his cameo inIron Man 3 ) , yet none have been a full - onHulkstandalone - and that does n’t face like it ’ll commute in future . The job is n’t really account , but practical : Marvelcan’tmake a Hulk solo celluloid . It ’s been a staggering nine eld sinceThe unbelievable Hulkand despite public lecture of a direct follow - up or tangential solo outing for Bruce Banner and his infuriated alter ego , none have come to pass;it ’s been proven that supposed leaks suggesting exploitation were falseand Marvel Studios has repeatedly said it ’s off the cards , withThor : Ragnarokeven fork up on long - desired standalone pleasure trip Planet Hulk . But why ? It really all follow down to contracts .
It ’s well known that characters ' flick rightfulness have a big influence on the Marvel films made . Daredevil ( and by extension the entire Netflix Defenders franchise ) exists only becauseMarvel was n’t able to brawl Galactus and the Silver Surfer back from Fox , and just this summertime we gotSony / Marvel Colorado - productionSpider - valet : Homecomingwhere the vane - slinger join the franchise while being made by a unlike company . But Hulk is , shockingly , even more complex than that .
Why There Aren’t Any More Hulk Standalone Movies
Although his comics have never really sold well - the original run was canceled after only six proceeds , with the fibre only endure thanks to his Avengers association - Hulk is one Marvel ’s cock-a-hoop icons , thanks in no little part to theBill Bixby / Lou Ferrigno The Incredible Hulk TV serial . Running from 1977 to 1982 ( with three TV movies that joined David Banner with Thor and Daredevil ) , it reshaped how wider culture viewed the Green Goliath , popularising many indispensable elements ( not least " do n’t make me furious , you wo n’t like me when I ’m wild " ) . This is authoritative because it made Hulk a multimedia star at a time when Marvel was conservative of the big screen .
A film star Hulk was first float in 1990 , with Universal having bought the movie right wing . This look at a very winding path to Ang Lee’sHulkin 2003 , a moving picture whose mixed reaction led to a muted sequel development period that in the end saw the rights revert to Marvel in 2006 , just as the studio apartment was define up the MCU . However , unlike most other reacquisitions where the creator gets the character back outright , with Hulk Universal still has a clause - apparently in sempiternity - offirst refusal on distributing any Hulk films .
This is whyThe Incredible Hulk , the character ’s only solo expedition in the MCU , was distributed by Universal . Back then , Marvel Entertainment were an autonomous company and so the Studios operated as just production , working with external distributor . This was typically Paramount , who released every film exceptHulkup untilThe Avengers , by which point Disney had corrupt Marvel and set about distributing themselves .
However , even under the Mouse House , Universal still has that " first refusal " clause . So , while they ca n’t do anything fighting with the rights , should Marvel decide to make a Hulk movie Universal must be approached first . This was fine in the freewheeling 2000s when Marvel stood as its own thing , but now under Disney create a difference of opinion - they would be loan out an IP so another company can make money off it . While something vaguely similar pass with Spider - Man , there was a much clearer balance of reward to either side . Here Universal ’s the only unity who win .
There may be a more antagonistic side to this as well . The last we heard on the affair make out from Mark Ruffalo , who head the finger squarely atUniversal not play nice with Marvel . Now , it could be only the company was n’t going to give up their power to call on the knock-down clause rather than genuine dissonance , but it ’s empty the whole situation come down to that .
Why Marvel Can Still Use The Hulk
However , it ’s not like there ’s no Hulk in the MCU . After being reforge as Mark Ruffalo ( a choice unrelated to right issue - it was the resolution of Norton not wanting to hark back ) , Hulk ’s appeared inThe Avengers , Iron Man 3 ’s post - credits scene , Avengers : Age of Ultron , Thor : Ragnarokand will return inAvengers : Infinity WarandAvengers 4 . This is because Universal ’s choice only relate to expressed Hulk motion-picture show and , as Bruce Banner is clearly part of an ensemble in these eccentric , they have no say in them .
Just because he ’s a supporting character , though , does n’t mean Hulk is being underserved . Per Ruffalo and Kevin Feige , Ragnarokis the start of a three - picture show arcthat will pretend as some estimate of a standalone tale , dig into what makes Hulk , Hulk . It ’s Marvel work around the restriction and . found on the response to the character sinceThe Avengers , it ’s working .
So from all this , there ’s no official barrier to another MCU Hulk picture show . The situation is more of a standoff between Disney and Universal where neither wants to give , and so Marvel are just contend with it . Like with Spider - Man , there is oscilloscope for some agreement , although the current terms do n’t provide much room for negotiation .
Could this change ? Post - Homecoming , anything ’s potential . After all , Ruffalo ’s contract originally ran for six movies , so assuming that has n’t changed he still has one more to go ( Iron Man 3is unlikely to have counted ) ; rounding thing off with a Hulk flick would a fitting finale to the character ’s time in the MCU . However , also working against that are originative reasons as well as contractual .
The Creative Reason - Hulk Movies Are Hard
As we said at the starting time , Hulk is n’t the most popular of the main Avengers . And this is truthful of both in the sixties and the 2000s . Ang Lee’sHulkmade $ 245 M at the worldwide box office , a fair enough sum for the clock time that saw it pretty much smash even , but well lower thanX - Men 2 ’s $ 407 M that same summer and well belowSpider - Man ’s $ 821 M a class originally . The Incredible Hulkbarely improved on that half a decade later on , making $ 263 M in a year whenIron Manbrought in $ 585 M andThe Dark Knighttopped $ 1B ( this was when run into that mark was a major achievement ) . Neither of the flick vex great attention either;The Incredible Hulkis one of the worst review of the integral MCU and is often forget when it comes to full - enfranchisement assessment .
Hulk movies are not proven at dependable , unpopular at bad . Part of this do from a tricky Libra within the character ’s conception ; while you have a big fleeceable monster for thrill , he only exists in a disconnection of our literal admirer . This is why the one truly successful outing for Hulk is the TV series , which by its nature focalize on Banner ’s conflict and internal drama - things that are great for occasional TV but not really a big blockbuster picture show . Hulk is Jekyll and Hyde where Hyde is typically mindless . Of course , the comic moved beyond this in the 1960s , but culturally that is where Hulk ’s been , and it ’s only really inRagnarokwherehis self-sufficiency is presented .
All of that makes aHulkmovie a tricky prospect . It need going against an ingrained idea and barreling into something more psychological than the MCU construction allows . Marvel ca n’t make a Hulk standalone , but they in all probability would n’t want to even if they could .
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