The nature of the online world we live in is that rumors and theories are more prevalent than actual fact. But, every now and then a rumor begins from an actual place of truth and continues to grow until we learn the truth. And, other times, it gets debunked and we all lose our fanboy boners.
When the idea of a PLANET HULK or WORLD WAR HULK movie was bandied about over the last several weeks, many of us lost our collective minds at the prospect of such a bold and exciting move by Disney and Marvel. But, then Joss Whedon came along and told us it was not happening. Now, Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, is giving us more news to the contrary.
Ruffalo took to Twitter and had this to say:
“A lot of folks have been asking about the Next Hulk. The next time you see my Hulk it will be in THE AVENGERS 2. No plans for stand alone. I am not giving up on another stand alone HULK. But it’s not in the works right now. One never knows what the future will bring.”
So, at this point, I don’t think Ruffalo is lying that he will not be making an appearance in IRON MAN 3, THOR: THE DARK WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, or even GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. But, Disney and Marvel would be fools not to capitalize on the success of his performance in THE AVENGERS. HULK is a difficult character to build an entire film around, as both Ang Lee and Louis Leterrier can attest. The big mute giant worked well in THE AVENGERS because he was only a supporting character and Ruffalo brought the best portrayal of Bruce Banner to the big screen. Making a WORLD WAR HULK or PLANET HULK movie would remove the human element from the equation, but would also work to set up Banner as an adversary for THE AVENGERS in the inevitable third movie.
For now, I am fine with no third HULK movie, but I hope we do get to see him appear in more than just THE AVENGERS 2, when it bows on May 1, 2015.