Avengers: Age of Ultron Rumored To Feature Love Interest For Bruce Banner

Bruce Banner, the alter ego of The Incredible Hulk, will have a romantic interest in the forthcoming, Joss Whedon-directed sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to movie rumor king El Mayimbe at Latino Review. Logically, it will be Betty Ross, the daughter of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, currently known as the Red Hulk. Betty and Thunderbolt Ross appeared in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film, and in 2003's Hulk, to which The Incredible Hulk was a loose sequel ("We couldn't quite figure out how to term this," executive producer Gale Ann Hurd said at the time. "It's kind of a reboot and it's kind of sequel"). Ross (and anything else resembling a supporting cast for Banner) was missing from Marvel's The Avengers, presumably for the same reason that no supporting characters except for Iron Man's girlfriend Pepper Potts appeared onscreen. Since he and Hawkeye are the only characters who will not have made significant appearances by then in their own films or as supporting players in other movies. Recasting Ross might not be necessary, of course; check out the tweet in question...

Because you folks were so cool to me today, here is a free cool AVENGERS 2 tidbit: BRUCE BANNER/THE HULK is actively dating. @Marvel RT :) — elmayimbe (@elmayimbe) January 10, 2014

...even assuming El Mayimbe is right, just saying that he's dating doesn't require Whedon to find himself a new Betty Ross. There could be a throwaway reference to his relationship a la Coulson's cellist. Avengers: Age of Ultron is due in theaters on August 1, 2015.