Remember the mass chaos that immediately followed Marvel’s big movie announcement, as fans started wondering what all the upcoming films would mean for their favorite superheroes? Well, apparently fans weren’t the only ones left to dig through the pieces and try to forecast the future. In fact, poor Mark Ruffalo, the Hulk himself, has been doing exactly that over the past week or so.
No one has bothered to tell Mark Ruffalo how many movies the Incredible Hulk/ Bruce Banner is going to be in. It could just be the Avengers flicks. It could be Civil War. Hell, it could be Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 for all we know. Marvel is always talking about crossing its characters over and letting them interact. You would think those decisions have already been made, but even if they have, it hasn’t helped Ruffalo any.
Here’s what he told Vulture…
"We haven't really gotten into the deals of that; I'm still waiting to hear how many they want me for! It's like doing a TV show, but in a movie.”
You hear that noise? That’s the MIA/ Paper Planes cash register noise repeatedly going off in Mark Ruffalo’s head. This new slate of movies should put him in a pretty good negotiating position, and provided he finds the right balance between not settling too soon and not making absurd demands, he should add to his bank account and fame in incredible doses over the next half decade or so.
If I had to guess, I would say Mark Ruffalo will show up in Avengers 2, Civil War and the two-part Avengers: Infinity War. Of course, he could just as easily show up more. There’s just no way of knowing without getting a peak at Marvel’s plot outlines, and something tells me they’re holding those pretty close to the vest.
On the bright side for Marvel, this whole thing probably reaffirms the joint wisdom between the studio and Edward Norton to not move forward. Edward Norton is a man who has always wanted tremendous control over his career. He wants to be making important projects that push the envelope in some way. This level of uncertainty would probably be eating him up inside, whereas Mark Ruffalo seems to just be going with the flow and waiting his turn, which is exactly what gigantic, long-term universes like this need.
We’ll let you know the story once we have a clearer picture.
