The Incredible Hulk Star Confirms The Leader Was Supposed to Be in 3 Movies

One of the first movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk ended up setting up [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

One of the first movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk ended up setting up many plot points that were supposed to pay off at some point in the future. Ten years and twenty-some movies later, there are still a few unanswered questions, including the whereabouts of one Samuel Sterns, a scientist played by Watchmen star Tim Blake Nelson. In a recent interview by Nelson, the MCU star not only confirms he was supposed to eventually become The Leader, but revealed he was set to appear in three films set in the MCU.

"I got called down to the lobby of the Mercer Hotel to meet Louis Leterrier and Gale Ann Hurd, who's producer," Nelson recalls to GQ. "They said, 'We want you to play this science character," and I'd read the script. He was a wildly eccentric guy, mainly in the second half of the movie."

He adds, "I thought that was interesting because I haven't been in one of these movies before and they said, 'Well, you're going to become the villain in the next movie, so you'll basically be signing up for three movies and you're going to be this character called The Leader.' And I thought 'Oh my God, this is fantastic.'"

As you know by now, Nelson hasn't popped up anywhere else other than the Edward Norton-starring Hulk solo flick. Thanks to a tie-in comic released ahead of The Avengers, we know that at one point, the character was in the custody of SHIELD. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Marvel Studios has yet to set release dates for its theatrical releases in Ant-Man 3 and Blade or the Disney+ shows consisting of Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.

Do you think The Leader will ever return to the MCU? If so, when do you think he could pop up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things MCU!

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