Of all the comic book characters that feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s arguably the treatment of The Hulk that makes the least sense.
This icon of popular culture was the focus of the second instalment in the juggernaut franchise – 2008’s The Incredible Hulk – but has essentially been relegated to the status of supporting role ever since. Along with Thor, the hero was entirely absent from Captain America: Civil War, having flown off into the sunset as Sad Hulk at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron.
His absence will soon be explained in Thor: Ragnarok – due for release on November 3rd – but the frustration of Hulk fans around the world continues to grow and as Mark Ruffalo told us not too long ago, there’s not ever going to be another solo film featuring the character. At least, not with him in the role.
While that’s definitely disappointing, it seems like Marvel is trying to make up for it a bit by giving the Hulk an increased presence in the MCU going forward – and that’ll all begin in Ragnarok. According to Ruffalo, the studio has a special trilogy of sorts planned for the character. Not an actual trilogy, mind you, but rather an arc that will kick off in the aforementioned threequel and carry through to both Avengers: Infinity War and its currently untitled sequel.
Speaking to Cinema Blend recently, here’s what the actor shared:
“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.”
So again, not quite a trilogy in the traditional sense, but more focus on the Hulk can only be a good thing and besides, who knows what will happen down the road? Perhaps Ruffalo’s wrong and we will eventually get that solo MCU film for the character after all. Time will tell, but if nothing else, fans can at least look forward to a bright future for the hero, one which will likely get even brighter once Thor: Ragnarok touches down in theatres next month.