Hulk may have been removed from Civil War to serve a larger purpose

Bruce Banner/Hulk hasn't shown up on any of the character lists for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, but Mark Ruffalo seemed pretty optimistic about his character making a brief appearance last time he spoke about it. Seems that's no longer the case, as a more recent interview Ruffalo has done with Italian site Bad Taste confirms that he will NOT be in CIVIL WAR, although there may be a good reason for it. Now, keep in mind that I've used all of my translating powers for the following quote (i.e. Google translate) so there may be something lost in translation.

Mark Ruffalo on Hulk's absence in CIVIL WAR:

Because Hulk's still missing and it's not known where. I thought that I would be in CIVIL WAR, but in the end [Marvel] believes that the reveal of what happened to Hulk is something too big, and they want to use this information later. My character had been inserted into the script, but was later taken out. Who knows? Maybe Hulk will never return. However, they want to keep the revelation of what happened a secret, because it is something really big.

Despite what may seem like an obvious set-up for a Planet Hulk film, it doesn't really sound like Marvel is headed in that direction yet. Then again, with all the recent changes to how Marvel's running things, I suppose anything is possible. While AGE OF ULTRON was far from Marvel's best, at least it gave audiences a plausible reason as to why Hulk is out of the picture during CIVIL WAR.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR will open in theaters on May 6, 2016.