Robert Downey Jr. Told Mark Ruffalo That The Hulk Is In Captain America: Civil War

Although Captain America: Civil War is packed full of superheroes, one notable Marvel Cinematic Universe character that has seemingly been left out of the gigantic ensemble is Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk. However, it’s recently been hinted that we may get to see actor Mark Ruffalo make an appearance in the 2016 blockbuster after all. Ruffalo mentioned last week that Robert Downey Jr. had suggested he’d be in the movie, and while we were wondering whether this was Ruffalo’s Avengers: Age of Ultron co-star having a little fun with him, now it sounds like the Iron Man actor actually did tell Ruffalo that he has a part to play in the Marvel movie.

During an interview with Hitfix, Ruffalo said that despite not being contacted by anyone from the production, he has been told by Downey Jr. that Bruce Banner is in the film. As Ruffalo laughingly put it:

If Robert Downey, Jr. says I'm in Captain America, I'm in Captain America, dammit. And I will wait for the day that my call sheet shows up at my doorstep or my script. At this point, I'm told that I'm in it by Robert, which I'll take as biblical, but I just haven't heard or seen from production yet.

Unless Downey misheard someone on the film or he’s playing a cruel prank, it sounds like he’s heard that that Ruffalo will be involved with the third Captain America installment. Still, you would think that after eight years of doing these MCU films, Downey would know not to drop information like this without express consent from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige or any other higher-up at the company. Since the film is less than a year away, we’ll get an answer to this question soon enough, but for now, we’re simultaneously cautious yet thrilled at a potential addition to this ensemble.

Principal photography on Captain America: Civil War began on April 27th, and is expected to run until at least August, if not longer. So if Downey is correct, there’s still plenty of time for Ruffalo to get a script, and travel to the set to shoot a scene or two. With all the superheroes already involved in the film, it’s hard to imagine Banner playing anything more than a minor role. There’s not even a guarantee he’ll Hulk out during the conflict, though one rumor lists the Green Goliath as showing up to deal with General Thunderbolt Ross, who will have transformed into Red Hulk. Hopefully they would also clue fans in on what Hulk has been up to after cutting off communication with Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

With or without Hulk, you can see Captain America: Civil War in theaters on May 6, 2016.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.