Marvel Studios Went Overboard Trying to Kill Planet Hulk Movie Rumors

Marvel Studios may have gone a little too far trying to shut down rumors of a Planet Hulk movie. As told in the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reports flooded the internet ahead of Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s 2015 debut suggesting that Hulk’s next adventure would adapt the fan-favorite story from the comics. Planet Hulk sees the Hulk as a gladiator and later a revolutionary on the planet Sakaar, with no appearances by Bruce Banner at all. The story’s culmination leads into the World War Hulk crossover event (now rumored to be in development as a Marvel Studios project itself). 

“We never even considered doing Planet Hulk because, as cool as we thought the comic was, Bruce Banner is not a part of Planet Hulk,” Feige says in the book. Banner is too essential to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s concept of the Hulk to not include him in one of its installments. Also, Feige doesn’t even go into the awkwardness and cost of a solo movie where the main character, and probably most of the supporting cast, is entirely CGI. 

Feige went as far as to have Age of Ultron writer/director Joss Whedon rewrite the Hulk’s ending in that movie to make sure no misinterpreted it as setting up a Planet Hulk movie. Initially, Hulk takes a Quinjet into space, and Nick Fury tells Black Widow that they’d lost contact with him somewhere past Saturn.

“I went, ‘Joss, we can’t do this. People are going to think we’re doing Planet Hulk,’” Feige recalls. They had Whedon change the dialogue to say they lost him while still on Earth and replaced the starry sky in the VFX shot with the blue of Earth’s atmosphere.

Ironically, at the suggestion of Guardians of the Galaxy executive producer Jonathan Schwartz, Marvel decided to let Hulk go to space after all. Primarily, this was to allow for Hulk to fight Thor, but Marvel infused Thor: Ragnarok with much of Planet Hulk’s plot and aesthetic. Feige later caught up with Whedon and told him, “Guess where Hulk went? He’s gone to space.”

What do you think of the Planet Hulk rumors being false and Marvel Studios ultimately sending Hulk to space anyway? Would you still like to see a full-on Planet Hulk movie? Let us know in the comments section. Thor: Ragnarok is streaming now on Disney+.