Bruce Banner - The Hulk Appreciation 2021

[The Cool Thatguy]

That's what happens when you aren't RDJ and are instead a character that had to have his actor be replaced in the last second. I guarentee you we would have gotten a WAY different Hulk if Norton stuck around, considering he would have been the biggest name in MCU, even bigger than RDJ.

But meh, it's MCU and i haven't cared about that for more than half a decade now, so i don't plan to now.

Norton's Hulk sucked. I doubt it would have been any better, and he's half the reason why we never got a sequel

[Intothevoid]

Norton's Hulk sucked. I doubt it would have been any better, and he's half the reason why we never got a sequel

I will take Nortons Hulk a million times over, if the studio did things the way he wanted then we would have probably gotten a lot more Hulk movies.

[The Cool Thatguy]

I will take Nortons Hulk a million times over, if the studio did things the way he wanted then we would have probably gotten a lot more Hulk movies.

His Banner Hulked out because he got horny. And he wanted a pointless Omar Little cameo, so his vision was crap.

I've read the article on Cracked

...he didn't get Hulk, and no one's a big enough star to push Disney MCU around

[SanityOrMadness]

I will take Nortons Hulk a million times over, if the studio did things the way he wanted then we would have probably gotten a lot more Hulk movies.

The main reason there's never been a solo Mark R Hulk movie is that Universal have the Hulk distribution rights, a deal that predates the Disney takeover of Marvel. Disney don't want to share if they can avoid it, they've self-distributed every MCU movie since Avengers 1 (except Spider-Man, but Sony's rights there go a lot deeper - Disney can't use Spider-Man at all in movies without dealing with Sony. Hulk, they just have to avoid branding a movie as a Hulk movie.)

[ChrisIII]

I think Norton (and Bana as well) are somewhat closer in likeness to the way Bruce is usually drawn in the comics.

Rufallo kind of more closely resembles Bixby, at least in the hair department. Heck, the character model in the Avengers game seems like they melded them together (along with a bit of voice actor/mocap Troy Baker's likeness of course).

[Intothevoid]

His Banner Hulked out because he got horny. And he wanted a pointless Omar Little cameo, so his vision was crap.

I've read the article on Cracked

...he didn't get Hulk, and no one's a big enough star to push Disney MCU around

I much rather have that, then a Hulk who is everyones punching bag nowadays and the butt of every joke.

Well except for RDJ and guess who could have been in the same position?

The main reason there's never been a solo Mark R Hulk movie is that Universal have the Hulk distribution rights, a deal that predates the Disney takeover of Marvel. Disney don't want to share if they can avoid it, they've self-distributed every MCU movie since Avengers 1 (except Spider-Man, but Sony's rights there go a lot deeper - Disney can't use Spider-Man at all in movies without dealing with Sony. Hulk, they just have to avoid branding a movie as a Hulk movie.)

Yea we all know that tired story...

Listen the Universal thing is not really a big problem for Disney, they made a deal with Sony over Spider-man they could easily make a deal with Universal over Hulk, the problem is Spider-man is a goldmine while they are still afraid because Hulk flopped twice already so they don't wanna risk a Hulk movie, even though nowadays they have built such a brand that they could make crap like Ant-man 2 and see a huge return in money. Although with Black Widow and Shang-Chi it seems it's slowly dying... happens every 15-20 year cycle. It happened with film noir, with westerners, with sci-fi horror flicks, disaster flicks, etc.. it will happen with comic book movies as well. Which basically means we will not get our Hulk movie not because of Universal but because Marvel wont risk it and the comic book movies are slowly approaching their end.

[Vordan]

It’s the pandemic that’s hurting the box office, not lack of interest. Just look at how excited people are for the latest Spidey trailer. Or how much people talked about Wandavision, F&WS, and Loki. Plus of course a lot of these newcomers are “who?” to the general audience and even a lot of comics readers (especially Shang-Chi).

They totally could work out a deal with Universal though, but Hulk isn’t viewed as the cash cow Spidey is sadly.

[Intothevoid]

The pandemic certainly isn't helping, but it's irrelevant in the end, we have seen this trend repeat itself over several decades. Something gets ultra popular and then it dies off. Does that mean we wont ever see a super hero movie? Obviously not same as we have seen westerns, sci-fi horror, disaster movies, etc... Occasionally they will pop up, especially with characters like Spider-man or Batman who are the pinnacles of the genre, but it doesn't change that the interest is declining. Black Widow box office fell over 80% in the second weak, Shang Chi is reported the worst opening MCU film since Incredible Hulk. Don't confuse the hype on twitter with the reality of the world, something can be the biggest deal online and be almost completely irrelevant in the real world.

Nothing in Marvel is the money maker that Spidey is, although ironically Hulk is maybe the closest thing, even during Infinity War, where he barely appeared at all and only to be embarrassed, he was still selling more toys and merch than Ironman, Captain America and Thor combined, which is pretty much the main reason we even see him AT ALL in those movies, they can't do **** with him in them but they can remind people he exists and they own him and that they can buy his merch any time they want from them.

[Cth]

Black Widow box office fell over 80% in the second weak, Shang Chi is reported the worst opening MCU film since Incredible Hulk. Don't confuse the hype on twitter with the reality of the world, something can be the biggest deal online and be almost completely irrelevant in the real world.

To be fair, that's a stupid comparision meant as clickbait.

"According to Boxoffice Pro, long-range tracking for Shang-Chi's opening weekend puts it in the range of $35 to $55 million. At its highest estimates, it would just barely tie with 2008's The Incredible Hulk, which opened to $55.4 million, and would put it below Ant-Man, which opened to $57 million in 2015."

I mean, look at the biggest box office hit during the pandemic, A Quiet Place II which had Memorial Day helping it, no Delta variant and being a highly anticipated sequel. If it does those numbers it's a good thing.

"Box Office: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ Smashes Pandemic Record With $48 Million Debut -- The Paramount Pictures sequel is expected to generate a mighty $58 million through Monday"

---

And no, for me, Universal will always be the reason there's no solo Hulk film. Yes, Sony/Marvel worked things out, but it was a totally different situation. Let's say they work out a deal, going forth at a minimum they have 50% of the profits in an industry known for playing with numbers to avoid paying bonuses. The new film is a hit. Any sequel would have that 50% going forward and likely emboldens Universal to go for more come negotiation time. It also makes companies like Sony think of their own deals and if they're worth renegotiating.

It makes total sense from Marvel's perspective not to make a deal as it risks changing everything.

[Intothevoid]

To be fair, that's a stupid comparision meant as clickbait.

"According to Boxoffice Pro, long-range tracking for Shang-Chi's opening weekend puts it in the range of $35 to $55 million. At its highest estimates, it would just barely tie with 2008's The Incredible Hulk, which opened to $55.4 million, and would put it below Ant-Man, which opened to $57 million in 2015."

I mean, look at the biggest box office hit during the pandemic, A Quiet Place II which had Memorial Day helping it, no Delta variant and being a highly anticipated sequel. If it does those numbers it's a good thing.

"Box Office: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ Smashes Pandemic Record With $48 Million Debut -- The Paramount Pictures sequel is expected to generate a mighty $58 million through Monday"

None of this really refutes what i said. It actually enforces it, the pandemic might actually just accelerate the death of comic book movies. And it still ignores the fact that all these genres have gone through their phases of falling down and raising up. Ant-man had a low debut but it had strong staying power as it generated over 500 million dollars in the end, it hasn't fallen off like Black Widow and how future MCU movies will. And A Quiet place was not that much of a highly anticipated sequel, i mean the original only grossed 27 million in it's opening weekend and a total of 350 million at the box office, so this is normal.

And no, for me, Universal will always be the reason there's no solo Hulk film. Yes, Sony/Marvel worked things out, but it was a totally different situation. Let's say they work out a deal, going forth at a minimum they have 50% of the profits in an industry known for playing with numbers to avoid paying bonuses. The new film is a hit. Any sequel would have that 50% going forward and likely emboldens Universal to go for more come negotiation time. It also makes companies like Sony think of their own deals and if they're worth renegotiating.

It makes total sense from Marvel's perspective not to make a deal as it risks changing everything.

I am sorry but this is just pure cope, the deal with Sony was a lot more difficult, in fact they almost broke it off at one point(and IIRC they actually did and then made up again quickly after), and unlike Universal, Sony was already doing stuff with Spider-man, the movies where critical flops but both made over 700 million dollars at the box office, so they were a huge financial success.
Ant-man had a low debut but it had strong staying power as it generated over 500 million dollars in the end, it hasn't fallen off like Black Widow and how future MCU movies will.
Universal has done nothing but sit on Hulk, it's not generated anything for either them or Marvel, they would 100% accept almost any kind of deal at this point, in fact there have been some strong rumors that Marvel has yet to refute, which is that Marvel already got the rights to Hulk back, they are just sitting on it, not sure what to do with him.

In the end if people think this is all or mostly Universals fault, they are honestly deluding themselves. And the new What If episode with Hulk should give you a clear insight of what Marvel thinks about Hulk and his fans.

[Cth]

And A Quiet place was not that much of a highly anticipated sequel, i mean the original only grossed 27 million in it's opening weekend and a total of 350 million at the box office, so this is normal.

I disagree, but whatever.

I am sorry but this is just pure cope, the deal with Sony was a lot more difficult, in fact they almost broke it off at one point(and IIRC they actually did and then made up again quickly after), and unlike Universal, Sony was already doing stuff with Spider-man, the movies where critical flops but both made over 700 million dollars at the box office, so they were a huge financial success.

[..]

Universal has done nothing but sit on Hulk, it's not generated anything for either them or Marvel, they would 100% accept almost any kind of deal at this point, in fact there have been some strong rumors that Marvel has yet to refute, which is that Marvel already got the rights to Hulk back, they are just sitting on it, not sure what to do with him.

In the end if people think this is all or mostly Universals fault, they are honestly deluding themselves. And the new What If episode with Hulk should give you a clear insight of what Marvel thinks about Hulk and his fans.

Didn't say the Universal situation was more difficult so I have no idea where that came from.

And you don't seem to understand the Universal deal. They can't make a Hulk film. The only rights they have/had(?) are distribution rights. It's not a matter of them making a film legally they can't. Sure they can ask Marvel to make one but Disney won't do that until they give up something which Universal isn't doing. So it's a stalemate with neither side budging. Disney doesn't need the money and they can make money with the character guest starring so they're not in a rush. And they've proven they'll wait until they get the deal they want.

Like it or not, Universal is the reason a film hasn't been made for years. There's no rational way to argue otherwise.

As far as What If goes, I guess Marvel's been that way for years.. traditionally What If has darker endings with many deaths. Hardly a statement on fans, unless you're one of those kooky Comicsgaters that is convinced Marvel is pushing a woke agenda, etc.

[Intothevoid]

I disagree, but whatever.

You can disagree but facts wont change.

Didn't say the Universal situation was more difficult so I have no idea where that came from.

And you don't seem to understand the Universal deal. They can't make a Hulk film. The only rights they have/had(?) are distribution rights. It's not a matter of them making a film legally they can't. Sure they can ask Marvel to make one but Disney won't do that until they give up something which Universal isn't doing. So it's a stalemate with neither side budging. Disney doesn't need the money and they can make money with the character guest starring so they're not in a rush. And they've proven they'll wait until they get the deal they want.

Like it or not, Universal is the reason a film hasn't been made for years. There's no rational way to argue otherwise.

You said it was a different situation I said it was a more difficult situation, I never said that you said that. I understand the Universal Hulk deal, NOWHERE did i say Universal should make or could make a Hulk movie, they can't do **** with Hulk themselves, but they have been just sitting on him which is not doing anyone favors. The side that is not budging is Disney, once again IF Disney wanted they would get Universal to work with them very easily, but they are not in any rush because they don't know what to do with the character.

Universal is not the SOLE reason the film hasn't been made, as Marvel can easily change that IF they wanted to, the reason is they are afraid of another Hulk flop, it's not that deep.

As far as What If goes, I guess Marvel's been that way for years.. traditionally What If has darker endings with many deaths. Hardly a statement on fans, unless you're one of those kooky Comicsgaters that is convinced Marvel is pushing a woke agenda, etc.

LOL, thats so bad faith... No i have nothing with comicsgate, nor does this have ANYTHING to do with any "woke agenda", I've literally argued with gaters on twitter over them complaining about Immortal Hulk. Kinda hilarious you would say this is some Comicsgate talking point when i saw it just recently be said by one of the most anti-comicsgate people on twitter. I do love the attempt at muddying the water.

[ChrisIII]

So anybody watch the new What if? The "Hulk can't die" dialogue seems like a bit of a nod to IH.

[Hulkbanner12]

That's what happens when you aren't RDJ and are instead a character that had to have his actor be replaced in the last second. I guarentee you we would have gotten a WAY different Hulk if Norton stuck around, considering he would have been the biggest name in MCU, even bigger than RDJ.

But meh, it's MCU and i haven't cared about that for more than half a decade now, so i don't plan to now.

Is it not better than when Hyperion destroyed Hulk with atomic vision in Mephisto universe?

[BlackClaw]

With the multiverse in play, does anyone think that we could have the Maestro in the MCU?