The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier reveals the scrapped sequel would have introduced several different shades of Hulk.
Per ComicBook, the filmmaker shared some insight into what the follow-up would have entailed, noting that Bruce Banner wouldn’t have been the only towering powerhouse to grace the screen. “Yeah, there was like a whole sequel,” said Leterrier. “There was like Grey Hulk, Red Hulks – there was a lot of good stuff that we were planning.” While extensive plans were drawn up to continue the story of Edward Norton‘s Hulk and several key figures attached to the project promised a sequel would be made, Marvel Studios ultimately nixed the project, replacing Norton with Mark Ruffalo in subsequent films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A More Civilized Hulk
Leterrier went on to state that the MCU’s current iteration of The Hulk, dubbed by many as “Smart Hulk” given how he retains Bruce Banner’s intelligence and personality after transforming, is less entertaining to him.
“Hulk is a complex character within the Marvel Universe,” the filmmaker said. “You want the primeval Hulk… the rage Hulk. And then when you go Grey Hulk and Smart Hulk you lose that a little bit and you get a little bit more kiddish with it But that was the fun of where I was in my movie, with the access to consciousness and all that stuff. That was really fun. And that’s what I was aiming to do.”
Leterrier concludes by admitting that while he enjoyed She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the latest MCU story to feature Bruce Banner, he realized Marvel Studios had moved very far away from his initial vision. “I like She-Hulk, but then you know, yoga between Hulk and… I was like ‘Okay! Yeah, we’re very far from my Hulk.”
The Incredible Hulk is available to stream on Disney+.
