Mark Ruffalo says Thor: Ragnarok to kick off special trilogy for Hulk

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The rights to the Hulk are tangled between Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures, which means that a standalone Hulk film starring Mark Ruffalo isn't very likely at the moment, but that doesn't mean that Marvel can't give Hulk his own special trilogy hidden within other movies. It's been over two years since we last saw the Hulk in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, but the character is set to return in a big way for the upcoming THOR: RAGNAROK, and Mark Ruffalo told CinemaBlend that it will represent the beginning of a Hulk arc which will continue throughout AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS 4.

So basically, Kevin [Feige] pulled me aside before this, and said, 'If you were gonna do a… if we were going to do a standalone Hulk movie, what would it be?' And I said, 'I think it should be this, this, this, and this and this, and ends up like this.' And he's like, 'I love that. Why don't we do that in the next three movies, starting with Thor 3 and then we go into Avengers 3 and 4.' And I was like, 'That sounds great!' And so we are at the beginning of this arc.

Mark Ruffalo obviously wouldn't spill too much about what that arc will consist of, but part of it will chart the evolution of Hulk and Bruce Banner as two separate individuals, prompted by Hulk becoming a little more vocal in THOR: RAGNAROK. "Hulk speaking is the start to separating of these two individuals, these identities in this split-identity person, and where that's going to end up going. So it was really interesting to me. He's like a baby! He's like a five year old or six year old. So he has the same syntax, he has the same world view, and so it was fun." We've got less than a month to go before Hulk's return in THOR: RAGNAROK, and judging by the first reactions, we're in for a highly entertaining ride.

The official synopsis for THOR: RAGNAROK:

In Marvel Studios’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk!

THOR: RAGNAROK will hit theaters on November 3, 2017.