Way back in 2016 (it feels like a few cinematic universes ago, honestly), Mark Ruffalo told Marvel fans that Thor: Ragnarok and beyond would “feel like” a standalone Incredible Hulk movie, and he wasn’t wrong. Director Taika Waititi made the green guy fun and bounced him marvelously off Thor in manner of a cosmic buddy comedy. Also, we saw a flash of the Hulk butt, which somehow didn’t feel gratuitous at all. Then we got a version of Smart Hulk (also referred to as Professor Hulk) in Avengers: Endgame. After the snap, Bruce Banner and the Green Guy had merged into a downright amenable amalgamation. Fans inside the movie loved Smart Hulk, and real-life audiences found him endearing. One person who didn’t like the changes? O.G. Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno.
Ferrigno, who starred in the The Incredible Hulk TV series for five seasons (1978 to 1982) spoke at Canada’s Hamilton Comic Con over the weekend. In doing so, he expressed disappointment that Bruce Banner and the Hulk were no longer clearly distinguishable personalities. Although Banner seemed pretty darn relieved (and hilariously mocked The Hulk’s previous smashing proclivities during a time-travel scene back to the events of 2012’s The Avenger) to no longer be experiencing an internal battle, Ferrigno wasn’t onboard. Via ComicBook.com:
“What’s happening is that the first two Hulk movies, the CGI was improving, but the last one, Endgame, I was disappointed. Because the Hulk needs to be hideous, he needs to be a creature. You see in Endgame, Mark Ruffalo — I think it has a lot to do with him and Disney — I didn’t like the way it portrayed [Hulk]. It took away that beauty, that quality of the Hulk. That’s why a lot of people liked the series.”
One thing that the Phase Three MCUl movies did well was to bring more texture and dimension to multiple Avengers (including Thor, to marvelous effect), and the switch-ups were received quite well. Not everyone will agree, though, and Ferrigno’s perspective might be a minority view, but it’s still useful for reflection purposes. Kevin Feige has been pretty clear that all of the changes were made with longevity in mind, and hopefully, we’ll hear more soon about the future of Hulk in the MCU.
(Via ComicBook.com)
