During the age of heroes and men, the character of the Incredible Hulk was deemed worthy enough to join the Avengers in their pursuit of killing Thanos. Mark Ruffalo, now the face of Hulk was not the first choice for portraying Bruce Banner.
Fans familiar with the history know that Edward Norton, the Fight Club actor portrayed the character of Hulk in the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk. According to reports, however, Louis Leterrier, the director of the movie wanted Mark Ruffalo to portray the character from the beginning but Marvel Studios interfered.
Mark Ruffalo Was The First Choice To Portray Hulk in the MCU!
In a twisted tale of fate, Edward Norton’s casting as The Incredible Hulk was deemed an okay-ish choice in 2008. Known for famous movies like Fight Club and Primal Fear, the actor was indeed praised for his acting skills but The Incredible Hulk found average earnings and reviews at the global box office.
A sequel was never announced and the character of Bruce Banner remained faceless for a while. After the whole ordeal was over, Mark Ruffalo came in as the savior and portrayed the character in the 2012 movie The Avengers. According to sources, the director of The Incredible Hulk, Louis Leterrier wanted Ruffalo in the first place instead of Edward Norton.
It was later that Marvel Studios interfered and stated that Norton was more famous and popular than Ruffalo which was why they wanted the role to pass onto the American History X actor. Talking to The Huffington Post, Louis Leterrier revealed what essentially went on during the casting of The Incredible Hulk.
“Both [Hulk actors] are great. Both are fantastic. But I actually wanted to cast Mark Ruffalo as Hulk and Marvel was like ‘No, you should get Edward Norton because he’s more famous.’ … I wanted Mark Ruffalo. And they were like, “No, no, he just does smart, intellectual movies.” Which makes sense, then and there in his career. But that’s how I know [Ruffalo].”
In the end, however, Ruffalo was eventually cast as Dr. Bruce Banner and the people eventually felt that the role was indeed made for him. The Zodiac actor also knows what’s up with the MCU and even went as far as to make a joke on the disastrously failed performance of Thor: Love and Thunder!
When Mark Ruffalo Made Fun of Thor: Love and Thunder
With no stones left unturned, people know about the hilarious performance of Thor: Love and Thunder back in 2022. With low ratings and lots of curses, people hailed the movie as one of the worst in the Thor franchise.
Mark Ruffalo also admitted that he is aware of the failure and even went as far as to make a joke about it (talk about backstabbing). At the Emerald City Comic-Con 2023, Ruffalo stated that perhaps he could have saved the franchise if he would have been cast in the movie!
“I have a soft spot for Chris Hemsworth. So, I keep waiting for them to invite me back to the Thor franchise to save it… That’s a joke… I’m canceled…”
With Phase 5 of the MCU in full swing, there are rumors that Mark Ruffalo just might portray the character of the green monster once again in Avengers: Secret Wars. Although unconfirmed, the movie is slated for a release date of 1st May 2026.
Source: The Huffington Post
