If there's one thing fans learned from the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailers, it's that the Incredible Hulk will play a considerable role in the film. Aside from getting his fair share of action against Ultron and his Ultronbots, the big green guy seems to be a vital cog in the storytelling — which, according to rumors, may also lead into a solo film.
While promoting the latest Avengers film, Mark Ruffalo – the actor who plays the Hulk onscreen – answered questions about the reported Incredible Hulk standalone, as well as the possibility of seeing the green giant in Captain America: Civil War.
When asked how many films he has left in his contract with Marvel Studio, Ruffalo said he's still slated to appear in four more flicks — but that it could also go further.
"I could show up in another character's movie," Ruffalo said. "I could do Avengers 3 and 4; I could do a Hulk standalone; I could do a combination of those things. That's four or five, I think."
The next film in the Marvel lineup is Captain America: Civil War, which will feature Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow, in addition to Captain America. Even the web-head Spider-Man is set to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut. Regarding a possible appearance by Hulk, Ruffalo had some interesting things to say.
"I don't know if I'm in it yet. I don't know. Sometimes these things happen at the last minute in this world. I really don't know where I fit in from here on out, and I'm not sure they do," Ruffalo said.
The Incredible Hulk wasn't present in the Civil War comic book crossover because he had been shot into space as part of the Illuminati's plan. The secretive group, which includes Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, and Black Bolt among others, viewed the Hulk as an imminent threat that needed to be resolved. The Hulk went on to have a separate adventure in Planet Hulk, before making his way back to Earth in World War Hulk — completely missing out on the events of Civil War.
As for a future Hulk solo film, Ruffalo revealed that it's a tricky situation:
"As far as a Hulk movie, a standalone Hulk movie, Marvel doesn't really have the rights to that yet. That's still Universal's property, so there's that issue. That's a big impediment to moving forward with that. Now I don't think that's insurmountable, by the way, but I don't know where it's going from here for me," Ruffalo said.
Hearing that the Hulk won't be getting a movie of his own anytime soon might disappoint fans, but there's reason enough to stay hopeful. For years, Spider-Man was off-limits for use in the MCU because the character's movie rights were owned by Sony Pictures — but Marvel and Disney were able to pry him from their hands for a few films.
Maybe one of these days, Universal will finally agree to co-produce an Incredible Hulk standalone — especially considering that Marvel pretty much owns the bank with their successive box office hits.
For now, movie-goers can enjoy watching the green giant knock a few screws out of Ultron's mouth in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
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