Mark Ruffalo Is Not Optimistic About A Standalone Hulk Movie

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Some perspective: not three years ago, the idea of Spider-Man existing within the Marvel Cinematic Universe was being described as a “‘cold-day-in-hell’ type scenario.” Sony owned the rights to the character, and there was no way that two gargantuan corporations like Sony and Marvel could ever work out a deal to share him.

And yet, as of this writing, Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is in its second week of release, following a wildly successful opening weekend at the box office. What had been considered impossible for years — Sony and Marvel cooperating — has happened, and made a profit for everyone involved.

So you might want to take it with a grain of salt when Mark Ruffalo says that a “standalone Hulk movie will never happen.”

In an interview with Variety post Disney’s live-action D23 panel, Ruffalo — who plays Dr. Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk, in the Marvel Universe — made it clear that while he would like a Hulk movie to happen, he is not optimistic as to its prospects. He expounded: “Universal has the the rights to the standalone Hulk movie, and for some reason they don’t know how to play well with Marvel.” He further derided the studio, facetiously saying that Universal “[doesn’t] want to make money.”

It’s not an unfamiliar place for Marvel to be in, considering the past five-or-so years of Spider-Man development. Some other company owns the rights to a Marvel character but doesn’t really have an opening to do anything with it; Marvel would likely make the movie if a deal was reached. If I had to guess, I’d say that at some point down the line, that deal could well happen.

Marvel President Kevin Feige intimated as much when asked about a standalone Hulk film at D23, stressing Marvel’s “strict never say never policy.” In a post “Spider-Man: Homecoming” world, it seems that Feige is more optimistic than ever about inter-studio collaboration on Marvel Comics properties.

An aside — that standalone Hulk movie would probably not be very good. Ruffalo is fine in the role, I suppose, and the character works well as a supporting player in ensemble films like “The Avengers,” but I am far from convinced that the world needs a whole movie focused on the big green dude. Past attempts by Universal haven’t yielded a whole lot to be proud of. [via Comic Book Movie]