Mark Ruffalo says right now the only offer for him to return as the Hulk is in the upcoming Disney+ series “She-Hulk” but he’s still interested in a solo film as well…
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the wake of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Legacy characters like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) said their goodbyes with that movie, which left a lot of questions about the future of The Avengers in the MCU.
While Johansson is slated to return one last time to portray “Black Widow” in an upcoming solo film due out in November, Mark Ruffalo can’t say for certain what Marvel has in store for him when it comes to playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk.
Ruffalo has played the scientist turned gamma radiated monster for several films already including all of the “Avengers” movies as well as a memorable appearance in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Right now, there are no more “Avengers” films slated for release and according to Ruffalo there have been no overtures from Marvel regarding future appearances — outside of one possible crossover with an upcoming “She-Hulk” series headed to Disney+.
“There’s nothing completely at a place where it’s a done deal,” Ruffalo said recently when speaking to Variety. “There’s some talk of having Banner/Hulk show up in ‘She–Hulk.’ If we come up with something good, that would be really interesting. Right now that’s about it. That’s all there is on the table.”
In the comics, “She-Hulk” is a woman named Jennifer Walters, who gains her powers after receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner. Given that close relationship, it would make sense for Ruffalo to appear in the TV series if for no other reason than to give “She-Hulk” a similar origin story.
Outside of that project, Ruffalo says nothing else has been talked about in regards to his future with Marvel, although he’s definitely open to ideas.
At the top of his own personal wish list, Ruffalo would still love to see Marvel tackle a solo “Hulk” film, which is something he’s never been able to do after he began playing the character in 2012’s “The Avengers.” There have been two previous “Hulk” adaptations starring Eric Bana and Edward Norton but Ruffalo has never gotten the chance to play the character outside of appearances in other films.
“There’s an idea that I think could be really interesting,” Ruffalo said. “We’ve never really followed him into his life. He’s always kind of off on the side. He’s like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Avengers. It’d be interesting to fill in all the blanks about what happened to him in between all these movies.”
Marvel has already mapped out the next couple of years in terms of film releases with “Black Widow” and “The Eternals” as the next two movies slated for release. It remains to be seen if the studio will ever tackle another “Hulk” solo movie but Ruffalo definitely seems on board if Marvel wants to make it happen.
