The Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to weave together so many different characters and storylines over the years, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always as well put together as it is today. In fact, the MCU’s second attempt to add a superhero into the fold resulted in a mediocre adaptation of the Hulk’s character and story — along with the need to recast the actor who played the big guy for the Avengers films that would come later.
And Mark Ruffalo has taken on the role of Bruce Banner so well that most fans don’t bother talking about the fact that Ed Norton portrayed the character in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, released just over a month after Iron Man. It’s been a long time since Norton’s portrayal of Banner graced our screens, and many are just fine with that. Had the actor stayed in the MCU, however, it seems that the character could have gone down a very different path.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Norton spoke about what he would have liked to see from the Hulk’s story had he remained in the role. The actor could have seen himself doing a sequel had those in charge taken a different approach to the Hulk’s origin. Apparently, he would have liked to see a much darker plot take shape.
"I laid out a two-film thing, the origin and then the idea of Hulk as the conscious dreamer, the guy who can handle the trip. And they were like, ‘That’s what we want!’ As it turned out, that wasn’t what they wanted…I loved the Hulk comics. I believed they were very mythic. And what Chris Nolan had done with Batman was going down a path that I aligned with: long, dark and serious."
And anyone who’s seen the Avengers films can probably agree that, while Banner’s character and relationship with the Hulk is strained at times, his story arc is far from gritty and angst-ridden. There’s so much humor within all of the MCU installments — even the later ones that cover far more serious subjects — that it’s easy to understand why Norton might have felt these films didn’t line up with his own creative vision for the character.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said as much when he announced that they’d be recasting the role for the first Avengers movie back in 2012. According to Norton, Feige’s comments about finding an actor who jibed better with the cast and crew were “cheap,” but ultimately, it doesn’t seem like the actor harbors any genuinely negative feelings toward the franchise or those running it.
“We had positive discussions about going on with the films, and we looked at the amount of time that would’ve taken, and I wasn’t going to do that,” Norton concluded. “I honestly would’ve wanted more money than they’d have wanted to pay me. But that’s not why I would’ve wanted to do another Hulk movie anyway. I went and did all the other things I wanted to do, and what Kevin Feige has done is probably one of the best executions of a business plan in the history of the entertainment industry.”
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The actor isn’t wrong there. Despite the fact that the Hulk could have had a much more in-depth backstory than he’s given during the Infinity Saga, there’s no denying that Feige’s plan worked for Marvel. And while it’s a shame that fans will never get to see Norton’s vision come to life, we do love what Ruffalo has done with the character.
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