Hulk art by Jonas Thornqvist
The Avengers is the latest superhero film from Marvel studios that assembles some of the biggest comic book characters on one giant canvas. Originally Jon Favreau was hoping to direct the film which is why he agreed to the Avengers references in Ironman 2. Cost cutting forced the dumping of Terence Howard and at one stage Favreau himself was being reconsidered whilst he held out for a bigger payday. It would seem that this re-negotiating made Marvel studios look for a more affordable director and have tapped the equally talented Josh Whedon of Buffy / Angel fame to helm this new comic book adaptation extravaganza.
Teaser trailer for The Avengers
At the recent Comic-Con the cast members of the new Avengers appeared in a show of solidarity to begin the movie buzz.
Robert Downey Jr, Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo & Joss Whedon
Aside from the recognizable Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark) the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and the irrepressible Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) there are a few newcomers to the series. Chris Evans who is currently making his own Captain America movie appears as does Aussie Chris Hemsworth who played Kirk’s father briefly in Star Trek, and whose now starring alongside Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor.
Chris Hemsworth & Anthony Hopkins in Thor
Most notably absent from the Comic-con stage though not by any real surprise was Ed Norton who appeared in the second Hulk movie. It seems that the studio wasn’t ready to endure his need for numerous script revisions which did little to improve his Hulk movie and resulted in many scenes being left on the cutting room floor. Marvel’s president of production Kevin Feige released the following statement:
We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.
Despite meeting with Whedon for talks, Norton’s option was not picked up and email communications from his reps have been circling the web conveying their disdain for his treatment. Nonetheless the role of Dr Banner, physician, scientist, has gone to the accomplished actor Mark Ruffalo who was last seen in Scorsese’s mind-bender Shutter Island. His comments about working on the Avengers movie and portraying the Hulk’s alter ego shows his interest in the premise made popular by the 80’s show.
He’s a guy struggling with two sides of himself — the dark and the light — and everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control. I grew up on the Bill Bixby TV series, which I thought was a really nuanced and real human way to look at The Hulk. I like that the part has those qualities.
Mark Ruffalo & Josh Whedon at Comic-Con
Bill Bixby as David Banner & Lou Ferringo as the Hulk
Josh Whedon who was at the recent EW/Syfy party spoke about his Avengers movie and Mark Ruffalo taking over the role.
To me, I wanted Mark because he connects with you. He is a guy who you feel that he is you and he reaches out to you in a way that I don’t feel the performances as Banner have really done. And this also has to do with the way the narrative works, but I feel I wanted to come at Banner and The Hulk visually from a new place.
You can catch the whole interview here
The overall impression is that we’ll see a Hulk unlike previous screen depictions thus far, and with the talented Josh Whedon overseeing what will be a big FX movie with his signature style storytelling, we can only hope that this self confessed fan-boy has a lot a fun in the proverbial candy store.
Take a look at the original Bill Bixby/Lou Ferringo Hulk transformation.
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