Red Hulk And Iron Spider Were Considered For Captain America: Civil War

Spider-Man coming home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t enough for comic book fans. Immediately following a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios which allowed the webslinger to appear alongside the Avengers on the big screen, fans clamored over the idea of the Iron Spider suit being realized in live action. Not to mention, the return of William Hurt’s General Thaddeus Ross sparked questions of whether or not we would see the Red Hulk in Captain America: Civil War despite the Hulk’s absence.

As it would turn out, both the Iron Spider suit and Thaddeus Ross’ transformation into the Red Hulk were considered for Captain America: Civil War but didn’t make the cut (much like The Wasp).

“We had so many characters in that movie as it was,” Joe Russo tells ComicBook.com. “We consider everything, obviously, but with so many characters in that movie as it was to try and entertain adding another character and to get to the Red Hulk, you have to add a back story. You have to substantiate the narrative to get to that. [Thaddeus Ross], on our list of priorities, he was there sort of as the government’s agenda and not to add another complicated super powered character to the mix.”

Although Red Hulk didn’t burst onto the screen in Civil War, the sibling directors haven’t ruled out the possibility of bringing him into the mix down the road.

“We had a board when we started this process of the movies with these Avengers characters that have ever graced the screen in a Marvel film and a list of characters that we have at our disposal that haven’t graced the screen,” Joe Russo explains. “We spent the last six to eight months crafting stories around the cornucopia of characters at our disposal so anything is possible.”

Naturally, one has to wonder how the Red Hulk could have possibly fit in to an already crowded but well-balanced film. ComicBook.com Marvel expert Jamie Lovett says it could have happened, but there would be fallout.

“If they had given him the narrative space, Red Hulk may have fit,” he said. “But if you put a Hulk into a movie like Captain America: Civil War, you have to treat him like a weapon of mass destruction.”

As for the Iron Spider, Joe Russo says it, like Red Hulk, was also considered. “Again, that falls in that category of anything’s possible,” he says. “We consider everything.”

Captain America: Civil War is available for digital download on September 2 and comes out on blu-ray/DVD on September 13.