With Thor: Ragnarok already getting fantastic reviews from critics, it won’t be long before fans start demanding again that Hulk gets his own solo movie. Hulk has already had two previous solo movies, neither of which was well-received.
Of course, neither of the previous Hulk solo movies starred Mark Ruffalo. Eric Bana played Bruce Banner in the 2003 film, while Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in the 2008 film. Since that time, Ruffalo has taken over the role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers films, and he seems to have defined the role as his own.
Videos by ComicBook.com
With Ruffalo in the starring role, audiences are likely to be much more receptive to a Hulk solo film, but there’s a wrinkle. Universal still holds the distribution rights to all Hulk solo movies, so Marvel Studios can’ make a new Hulk solo movie unless they’re willing to share the profits with Universal. With everything that Marvel Studios is already putting out becoming money-making hits, the studio is probably in no rush to do a movie where they won’t reap all the benefits.
In an interview with IndieWire, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige himself addressed the possibility of another Hulk solo film.
“I think that back and forth continues, and I don’t know if it will ever happen,” said Feige. “But I will tell you, it makes me very, very happy going from a world, ten years ago, when people were questioning the viability of Hulk in a standalone film, to getting asked every other interview, ‘When will there be another standalone Hulk?’”
While that answer is pretty indefinite, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk will next be seen in Thor: Ragnarok, which releases on November 3, 2017.