Don’t get Edward Norton angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry. Unfortunately, though, that’s precisely what Marvel did when the three-time Academy Award nominee played Hulk back in the early days of the MCU. The dissension between the two sides ultimately led to the actor being replaced by Mark Ruffalo, which has only served to benefit the highly successful franchise and rile up the notoriously difficult performer even more.
Still, the 50-year-old icon maintains that walking away from the role of a lifetime was his decision. Whether or not that’s the truth is really all a matter of opinion, but after years of taking shots at his former employer, Norton now finally appears to be ready to bury the hatchet.
In fact, he says he’s even open to appearing again in the MCU one day as a villain, which seems appropriate given how he left things. When asked if he’d ever return to the series, here’s what he shared:
“Maybe as a baddie? Maybe I’ll write my own. I don’t know, I’m open to everything. I mean, I did Ask the StoryBots on Netflix.”
It’s nice to know that he’d be open to a reunion with Marvel, but it’s unlikely that they’ll want him back. The headaches that he gave the filmmakers while shooting and promoting The Incredible Hulk back in 2008 might be enough to scare them away from ever hiring him again. The MCU has done just fine without him for over a decade, too, and bringing the actor back could end up being much more trouble than it’s worth.
Then again, maybe executives at the studio can forgive Norton for being such a pain in the butt all those years ago and find a way to reincorporate him into the universe. Stranger things have happened. And while nothing appears imminent as of yet, as always, we’ll be sure to let you know if we hear anything more about the former Hulk actor potentially re-entering the MCU.