How Lou Ferrigno Feels About Hulk Talking In Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok Hulk's angry face

While Dr. Bruce Banner is a well spoken man of science, the Incredible Hulk is a large, green rage monster who doesn't really know his way around proper speech. Lou Ferrigno, the actor who originated the role of The Hulk in the TV incarnation, The Incredible Hulk, would know that better than most, as that's the way he played the role in his day. So the news of Thor: Ragnarok letting The Hulk have some lines outside of his usual range of speech has obviously inspired the following thoughts that Ferrigno shared with the press:

I think there should be a little dialogue but not when he's in a rage because we dealt in the past with that. In a normal conversation, it should be more of his sensitivity.

Obviously, this newer, more wordy Hulk isn't going to be an erudite professor of literature, able to quote Shakespeare with the original pronunciation. However, the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok has been described as having a speech pattern closer to standard English than ever before. So you'll hear the most cohesive dialogue from the muscle bound Avenger yet. Which, as you see above, isn't something Lou Ferrigno is totally against. However, the conditions have to be right, and seeing as The Hulk will start out fighting Thor in Grandmaster's arena, hearing him taunt Thor with a well worded insult would be rather inappropriate.

Ferrigno's layout of the situation seems pretty understandable. As Bruce Banner learns to control himself in his Hulk form, obviously his speech will be something that starts to come more naturally to him when he's big and green. But if Hulk is in a really angry, "Hulk Smash" sort of mood, then it makes total sense that he would be grunting and smashing a lot more than using his words. It's not like Lou Ferrigno is trying to pick a bone that doesn't deserve to be picked against Thor: Ragnarok. Rather, he's putting out an opinion on how the character should be represented, based off of historical precedent.

Ultimately, for the purposes of Thor: Ragnarok, The Hulk is a buddy/sidekick to the titular Odinson. So if he doesn't have a level of speech that's up to snuff to a certain level, hearing him have extended conversations is going to be tough on the audience's ears, as well as the voice of The Hulk. Lou Ferrigno also implied during his interview with ComicBook.com that he might be doing something special in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future, though he wouldn't elaborate on what this will entail. So maybe these opinions are held for some important, yet unknown, reasons that we'll find out about in Phase 4.

For now though, we'll be seeing Thor and The Hulk palling around the galaxy in Thor: Ragnarok, which is slated to bring the hammer down on November 3.

Mike Reyes
Senior Movies Contributor

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.