Mark Ruffalo thought Thor: Ragnarok would break the MCU

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has spent virtually a decade bringing to life some of the world’s most beloved superheroes and then sticking close to established and evolving character arcs. With THOR: RAGNAROK, though, the guidebook was brunt to an ugly little crisp as director Taika Waititi and the cast decided to write their own rulebook – which I assume was done in some sort of crayon. In fact, Hulk/Bruce Banner actor Mark Ruffalo admitted they went so far in doing something different he thought they were shattering everything Marvel had been working on for years.

Ruffalo spoke with Collider during the RAGNAROK press circuit recently, and revealed he panicked for a bit thinking that doing something so wildly different with Hulk and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) would smash everything Marvel had worked to cultivate:

[Laughing] You know how many times I was like, "Are we breaking the Marvel universe?" We threw everything out! We started all over again with this. We threw the Thor franchise out. We threw everyone's perception of Banner out. We threw everyone's perception of Hulk out. We threw everyone's perception of Thor out! [Laughing]

Though Thor has two standalone films that establish an arc for the character and got some time to shine in the AVENGERS movies (though not as much as Captain America or Iron Man), Hulk is the character that had room to grow. Due to contract reasons, Marvel Studios can't do a Hulk standalone movie, so RAGNAROK acts as beginning to a three-movie story for Hulk, which Ruffalo went on to reaffirm continues throughout the next two AVENGERS movies. 

Thor may have gotten his solo movies, but the character was in dire need of a pick-me-up. And then there's Hulk, who has always had to fight for time against the other, more popular Avengers. Now the two can have a shared reinvention in RAGNAROK, and even what they did has taken Marvel fans for a loop they seem to be loving every second. The movie still stands as the best-reviewed MCU movie yet, and it's charging its way to a massive opening weekend. Hulk smashed MCU very good. Very good, Hulk. 

THOR: RAGNAROK finally hits theaters this Friday.