It's a super exciting time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over a decade of filmmaking will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters next month, completing Phase Three of the behemoth franchise. The anticipation is made all the more high due to the twist ending of Infinity War, which saw Thanos succeed in uniting the Infinity Stones and wiping out half of all life in the galaxy.
There are a ton of questions going into Avengers: Endgame, as the studio has been keeping its cards close to the chest ahead of the film's release. Aside from the new suits and rumored time travel, a big question surrounding the upcoming movie is the role of The Hulk. The big green guy was noticeably absent through most of Infinity War, refusing to come back out after being beat down by Thanos in the opening scene. Now it appears that a rematch is coming, according to leaked merchandise. Check out the photo below.
Does anyone else have chills? Thanos and Hulk will hopefully come to blows again in Avengers: Endgame, whenever the latter finally agrees to resurface. Given the state of the galaxy after The Decimation, the surviving Avengers are going to need all the help they can get. That is, if this leak from Twitter is to be believed.
Years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk finally returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor: Ragnarok. He spent years on Sakaar, with with the big green guy in full control of Bruce Banner's body for the entirety of that time. Hulk and Bruce's power dynamic is clearly off, and thats a narrative that continued through Avengers: Infinity War.
Thanos laid waste to the Asgardian ship in the film's opening scene, in his quest to find the Space Stone. But our heroes had a few cards up their sleeve, and Hulk was able to briefly get the jump on the Mad Titan. But he wasn't strong enough to keep up with Josh Brolin's villain, and Thanos quickly got the upper hand and knocked Hulk out. But it appears that round two is coming with Endgame.
Bruce Banner might not have gotten his own solo movie after Phase One, but Mark Ruffalo's character still had an interesting arc throughout the last two slates of movies. Ruffalo and Kevin Feige crafted a three movie narrative for the character, played out across Thor: Ragnarok, Infinity War, and Endgame. So just like Phase Three, that story will come wrap up next month when Endgame finally arrives in theaters.
Hulk was noticeably absent from the trailers for Avengers: Endgame, so The Russo Brothers are trying to keep his plot line under wraps for the time being. Instead, we should expect plenty of Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, at least until things really heat up with the upcoming battle against Thanos.
Avengers: Endgame will arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
