Hulk Is A Full-On Celebrity In ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

Fate hasn’t been kind to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s not-so-jolly green giant. But when audiences next see the Hulk, the Avenger will be off-world living the life of a celebrated superstar on gladiator battle planet Sakaar.

“Hulk has loved his time on Sakaar, and why wouldn’t he? He’s adored and admired,” Ruffalo told Total Film. “He has a hot tub in his apartment.”

On Sakaar, the eccentric Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) pits gladiators from across the galaxy against one another, and it’s here that Hulk will be reunited with his “friend from work,” Thor (Chris Hemsworth). As ComicBook.com learned during a visit to the Thor: Ragnarok set, Bruce Banner has been the Hulk for two years since leaving Earth at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hulk has suppressed the puny Banner from his mind, and he’s even gained the ability to talk (albeit at the level of a two-year-old child). The Hulk is hailed as a champion from his fights in the arena, and The Grandmaster decorates Sakaar with posters and piñatas of the Hulk to keep the warrior’s spirits high — but even with his human side out of the picture, the Hulk isn’t happy.

Though the old co-workers are forced to clash, the Green Goliath and the God of Thunder team against Hela (Cate Blanchett) and her malevolent forces threatening to destroy Asgard. Thor: Ragnarok has been described by Ruffalo as a “cosmic road trip” and a “buddy movie,” showing audiences a different side of the incredible Hulk.

“There’s a little bit of Midnight Run, with [Charles] Grodin and [Robert] De Niro,” Ruffalo said early last year. “I feel like that’s kind of where we’re heading with this relationship between Thor and Banner. It is a universal road movie – that’s where we’re heading. It’s not where you’d think it will be, so it’s not your classic road movie but it has that structure, I think.”

In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first, he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!

Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi with a screenplay by Eric Pearson. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as Loki. They are joined by Cate Blanchett (Hela), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Karl Urban (Skurge), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Sam Neill, Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Stephen Strange).

Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3.

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