SPOILERS: What are Marvel’s future plans for the Hulk in the next two phases of the cinematic universe?

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Potential SPOILERS are rampant in this article.  If you’re a spoiler nazi and don’t want to know anything about anything then it goes without saying that this isn’t the place for you.  We have plenty of other articles for you to enjoy that will keep your movie virginity intact. For all others, you’re in the right spot.

So, Elmayimbe over at Latino Review has been teasing a scoop for a while now and delivered on his reveal tonight.  The reveal in question involves our favorite scene-stealing green goliath from last summer’s THE AVENGERS, The Hulk.  Obviously, we can’t confirm or deny anything said, so take it with a grain of salt until it’s officially confirmed by the Marvel brain trust. 

Now, we’ve heard the chatter about Guillermo Del Toro reviving the Hulk in a new TV series, but given the amount of projects on his plate, it’s unlikely that will gain any traction for a good while. However, with the massive success of the Hulk’s appearance in THE AVENGERS (finally, after two damn movies), his popularity soared, which has likely led to Marvel’s restored faith in the character’s viability at the box office.

LR is reporting that Marvel’s big plans for the Hulk take shape at the end of THE AVENGERS 2, which will see Hulk go on some kind of rampage, which in turn causes the Illuminati, a secret group of Marvel characters including Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Namor, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, and Professor X (expect that line-up to change, though, as some of those are Fox-owned characters), to exile the Hulk into outer space as a means to keeping him from doing further damage to Earth.  That’s right, for those keeping up with the comics, this is the very premise of Planet Hulk, the story arc that kind of relaunched Hulk into the comics universe with a bang after years of dwindling sales. 

Naturally, this will lead to, you guessed it, a PLANET HULK movie.  Leaping even further into Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this opens the door for the Hulk to return in THE AVENGERS 3, which would be a psuedo adaptation of World War Hulk, the follow up story to Planet Hulk.  This arc saw the return of a really pissed off Hulk who vowed to destroy those that sent him into exile, resulting in some seriously bloody throwdowns.

So, to recap, we’re potentially looking at the Hulk being shipped off to outer space exile at the end of THE AVENGERS 2 leading to a new Hulk film, likely titled PLANET HULK, and then the Hulk returning to Earth for a massive showdown in THE AVENGERS 3. 

If all of this turns out to be true then I’m beyond stoked.  I think this is the most sensible transition for the Hulk on the big screen and opens up the floodgates to expanding the Marvel cinematic universe in BIG ways.  The PLANET HULK animated film is actually really good and the comics it’s based on are some of the best stories the Hulk has ever been featured in.  True or not, this is one of the best directions Marvel could go with the character.

You can check out Elmayimbe’s full report here. 

Currently, THE AVENGERS 2 is slated for release on May 1, 2015.