Fifteen years after the film’s release, 2008’s The Incredible Hulk remains the strangest chapter in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008).
Released just months after Iron Man changed the superhero genre, The Incredible Hulk starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Following the disappointing critical and box office results of the film, Norton and Marvel contentiously parted ways.
Photo: Disney+
While Mark Ruffalo would assume the role of The Hulk in the Avengers films, the character would not get another stand-alone entry in the MCU.
Norton Vs. Marvel
In the years following The Incredible Hulk’s release, a ton of ink has been spilled as to what went wrong between Edward Norton and Marvel. The divorce was not a pleasant one, with both sides publically insinuating that the other party was to blame.
Photo: TCM
As recently as this year, reports have surfaced that Norton remains one of two people blacklisted from working with Marvel Studios.
Norton Wanted a More Serious Tone
In a recent interview on the new “Watchalong” podcast, The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier dove into the drama surrounding the film. While admitting that Norton and Marvel clashed during filming, it was apparently The Incredible Hulk’s tone that was the biggest point of contention.
Source: Universal Studios
“The whole way, everybody was in lockstep. It just got tense at the end,” the director remembered. “The end, it was very tense about the tone and the level of humor. Although Edward is very funny, all his friends are comedians and he is an extremely funny guy, he was very right in defending the seriousness of the movie. You have to remember, the mid-2010s…’The Dark Knight’ had such an impact on superhero movies.”
Photo: Warner Bros.
While Marvel would eventually reach the box office stratosphere with its combination of action and humor, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was lauded for its grounded approach to the superhero drama. Norton it seems, wanted to make a film more in the latter’s vein.
Battling Willaim Hurt
As it turns out, Norton wasn’t the only cantankerous actor that Leterrier had to deal with on set. The director also butted heads with William Hurt, who starred as Thaddeus Ross.
“William Hurt didn’t want the mustache to act him out. The size of the mustache was a discussion,” Leterrier said. “But sometimes he and I clashed. You have two types of actors. You got your partners, your best friends that you have to cajole all day, and then the people who like to have these arguments. They feed off that. That’s how he worked.”
In the end, however, the director and actor developed a healthy respect for each other.
“One day he was screaming at me, ‘You don’t know anything about actors!’” the director continued. “Too bad for him he was in the giant helicopter at the end and I was at the control. He was like, ‘You have to find the button to the nuclear plant…’ I took the joystick and shook him and he fell and looked at me and was like, ‘I like you!’ That was it. He just wanted to have a little bit of a fight.”
Photo: Time
The Incredible Hulk is now streaming on Disney+.
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