Avengers: Endgame
The Hulkreturned along with the rest of the original Avengers inAvengers : Endgame , but what does his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe look like now ? Hulk is singular among the members of Marvel Studios ' flagship superhero team , in that he ’s the only character for whom Marvel can not make solo movies ( since those rights belong to Universal Pictures ) . Despite this , Bruce Banner has managed to eke out an intriguing case bow through ensemble flick and his " Edgar Albert Guest " appearance inThor : Ragnarok .
thing claim a turn for Bruce inAvengers : Infinity Warwhen , in the Avengers ' most of the essence battle yet , the Hulk defy to come out and act . Then , inEndgame , thing got even stranger when the Avengers sought out Bruce and found that he had make do tomerge his two personalities to create Smart Hulk- all of Bruce Banner ’s scientific discipline brain , enfold up in Hulk ’s brawny green soundbox . After Thanos was ultimately defeat for serious , Hulk ’s final aspect require send Captain America back in time to exchange the Infinity Stones , and Bruce somewhat evanesce into the backdrop as Cap got his emotional send - off .
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This leaves Hulk ’s future in the MCU pretty opened . With Iron Man and Black Widow all in , Steve Rogers now an old military personnel , Hawkeye devolve to his family , and Thor off in distance with the Guardians of the Galaxy , it look like Hulk is the last original Avenger bequeath at HQ - and he too might go off and do his own affair ( as the Avengers commonly do in between their squad - up movies ) . Out of all the original Avengers , however , Hulk ’s future in the MCU Phase 4 might be the most complicated .
Marvel Can’t Make Solo Hulk Movies
In the same twelvemonth thatIron Mankicked off the MCU , Universal Pictures released an MCU movie as well : The Incredible Hulk , starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner . It served the graphic symbol well as an origin story , but outside of episodic reference ( like Bruce recalling the time he " broke Harlem " ) and the eventual return of William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross , it ’s easy to forget thatIncredible Hulkis an MCU motion-picture show . Not only was the role of Bruce Banner presently remold with Mark Ruffalo , there also has n’t been a standalone Hulk movie since .
In theory , Marvel Studioscouldadd another solo Hulk moving picture to the MCU slating … but it ’s very improbable to happen . Universal has a " first refusal " selection on Hulk ’s movie right hand , which means that if Marvel want to make a Hulk solo movie , it would first have to offer Universal the option of distributing it ( exchangeable to how Sony Pictures distributes the MCU Spider - Man movies ) . That ’s a major deterrence for Marvel , since it means split the net profit on any Hulk solo venture , so or else the studio came up with a workaround : featuring Hulk as a back up theatrical role in team - ups and other grapheme ’s movies . So far , this approaching has form astonishingly well , allow Marvel togive Hulk a three - movie arcwithout actually give him a Hulk movie .
Avengers: Endgame Ends Hulk’s Three-Movie Arc
In 2017 , Mark Ruffalo break thatThor : Ragnarok- in which Thor get Hulk living a new life as a gladiator on the planet Sakaar - was the start ofa raw Hulk trilogy , with a vindicated character bow through three ensemble movies . As Ruffalo explained , Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige asked for his sixth sense on what direction the character should take , and cover a plan for execute a three - act account through Hulk ’s next three movie appearance :
" Kevin pulled me away before this , and order , ' If you were gon na do a … if we were going to do a standalone Hulk movie , what would it be ? ' And I said , ' I cogitate it should be this , this , this , and this and this , and ends up like this . ' And he ’s like , ' I have a go at it that . Why do n’t we do that in the next three movies , lead off with Thor 3 and then we go into Avengers 3 and 4 . ' "
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Avengers : Endgamemarked not only the mop up of a narrative electric discharge that the MCU has been build up since 2012’sThe Avengers , but was also in effect the final act of Hulk ’s current character arc - and it wraps it up quite neatly . The " Hulk trilogy " began with Ragnarok , a pic where Hulk was go on Bruce suppressed , and then stay on with Infinity War , a flick where Hulk reject to come to the Earth’s surface . By unify those two extreme alter egos , Avengers : Endgame create , as Smart Hulk put it , " the best of both human beings . " However , give that the struggle between his mild - mannered scientist side and his dark-green fad monster side has been a core part of Bruce ’s character up untilEndgame , we now have to marvel what conflict will replace that conflict in the MCU Phase 4 .
Mark Ruffalo Still Has MCU Movies On His Contract
One of the upside to Hulk not getting his own trilogy of solo movies ( like Captain America , Thor , and Iron Man ) is that Ruffalo has been working through his six - picture contract with Marvel at quite a sedate pace . Ruffalo has so far starred inThe Avengers , The Avengers : Age of Ultron , Thor : Ragnarok , andAvengers : Infinity War , so afterAvengers : Endgamehe ’s still attached for one more movie .
By contrast , some MCU actors came to theend of their six - moving-picture show contractswithEndgame- most notably , Captain America actor Chris Evans , and Thor worker Chris Hemsworth . While Hemsworth seems conformable tocontinuing as Thorin the Wake Island ofThor : Ragnarok ’s succeeder , Evans has openly say thatAvengers : Endgameishis last MCU movie , andEndgamealso said a dolorous adieu to Robert Downey Jr. ’s Iron Man . As the biggest stars of the MCU are departing , it will make room for the more sidelined characters to move into more striking function .
Hulk Is An Easier Character To Keep Around Than Captain America Or Iron Man
Hulk ’s relative lack of solo moving picture has bring length of service to the case in ways that go beyond Ruffalo ’s contract bridge with the studio . Like other " supporting Avengers " - Black Widow and Hawkeye being the obvious example - Hulk still has a keen wad of undiscovered potential within the MCU . Iron Man has enjoyed three solo movies , an Avengers movie largely base around the consequences of his arrogance ( Age of Ultron ) , a abide role inSpider - Man : Homecoming , and what was basically a co - lead role inCaptain America : Civil War . He was also one of the most spectacular superheroes inAvengers : Infinity War , and finally got to savour a suitably heroic death inAvengers : Endgame .
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By contrast , we ’ve hardly engrave the surface of Hulk ’s potential in the moving picture . Between all the various threats to the major planet , Bruce ’s romance with Black Widow has been sidelined to the point of near non - universe , with the two sharing little more than a greeting inAvengers : Infinity War . Admittedly that particular subplot has had a lukewarm reception from fans , but that ’s principally because it ’s been kick in so piffling elbow room . Sure , Black Widow was killed off inEndgame , but she’sreturning for a solo movie in Phase 4and it would n’t be at all surprising if Marvel retrieve a way to bring her back to life .
On a practical spirit level , Hulk is also light to keep around because whenever the " Big Guy " is in play , the fiber is entirely CGI . " The Hulk " - as he unremarkably appears on card and in trailer - is most recognizable in his transmute state . The role has already been remodel once , and if Ruffalo ever does decide that he ’s sick of roleplay the role , Marvel could quite feasibly recast the quality again .
Hulk Stories That Could Be Explored After Avengers: Endgame
There are countless corking Hulk comic spark that many fans would hump to see , but we have to keep in mind the fact that Marvel Studios is extremely unconvincing to make a Hulk solo flick . The character’sPlanet Hulkarc was partly integrate intoThor : Ragnarok , but was inevitably stripped down to the breaker point that the only plot of land element included were Hulk hit a wormhole and crashing on Sakaar , and Hulk train up a novel life as a gladiator .
Just as Hulk was a supporting character reference inRagnarok , his future tense in the MCU afterAvengers : Endgamewill most belike consist of ensemble movies and providing back - up in other characters ' solo picture . With that in mind , the most obvious place for Hulk to dress up next would be in the plannedBlack Widowsolo picture , as a making love pastime / backup for Natasha Romanoff - but if the rumors ofBlack Widowbeing a prequel movieprove exact , the continuation of Bruce and Natasha ’s romance could be foiled again .
Interestingly , Hulk has now joined Thor in straddling the roadblock between the cosmic and land - based Earth of the MCU . As a scientist , Bruce may well have gotten a gustatory modality for interstellar travel , and as such could crop up in cosmic stories likeGuardians of the Galaxy 3or even a sequel toCaptain Marvel . Or , assuming all run smoothly withDisney ’s acquisition of Fox , Hulk could help to show in the Fantastic Four whenever they get their first MCU movie . The strength of the MCU ’s Hulk is that , because he ’s been establish as an ensemble character , he can jump from franchise to franchise without it feeling abnormal - and fans can get a real charge out of say , Bruce hanging out with the Guardians , or Hulk getting into a free-for-all with The Thing .
The post - Avengers : Endgamefuture is expect unsure mighty now , but as a character who has been around since the very start of the MCU , Hulk could be just the giant green rage monster we need to show in the next phase of taradiddle .
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