June 2023 marked the 15th anniversary of the release of The Incredible Hulk, and those who've watched the Marvel movies in order surely know it's the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though 30 movies have been released in the decade-and-a-half since the MCU’s Bruce Banner (originally played by Edward Norton) was first introduced, there hasn’t been a standalone movie devoted to “the Other Guy” since. Several of his fellow Avengers – Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor – have their own MCU trilogies (or quadrilogy in the case of the God of Thunder), Banner has been relegated to cameos and appearances in the various crossover films.
But why? Why hasn’t The Incredible Hulk 2 ever happened? Also, what was the sequel going to include? Below, we will break down various aspects of the never-realized sequel, including information about its plot, development, and the confusing rights situation that may have prevented the movie from happening years ago.
The Incredible Hulk Sequel Was Going To Include Grey Hulk And Red Hulks
Before we dive into the myriad of reasons why the follow-up hasn’t happened yet, let’s first tackle what the sequel was going to include and which characters were supposedly going to be returning. When speaking with ComicBook.com ahead of the August 2023 home release of Fast X, Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier divulged some key information about the planned sequel, specifically when it came to the various Hulks that were supposed to appear:
Yeah, there was like a whole sequel idea, there was like Grey Hulk, Red Hulks. … There was a lot of good stuff that we were planning.
Though the filmmaker never got to work with the later group in his planned sequel, there has been a great deal of speculation about Red Hulk as of late. This is in regard to the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, which we know sees Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (now portrayed by Harrison Ford following the passing of William Hurt) as the President of the United States. With Betty Ross once again being portrayed by a returning Liv Tyler, there’s a chance this element of the unrealized The Incredible Hulk 2 is used as well.
There Were Even Plans For The Hulk To Have Multiple Movies Like His Fellow Avengers
Though The Incredible Hulk would never get a sequel (not yet anyway), Edward Norton had plans for the story to be told over the course of multiple chapters, with the first movie being only the beginning of Bruce Banner/Hulk’s story. When speaking with Total Film (via GamesRadar) ahead of the film’s 2008 release, Norton saw this as the start of a new franchise:
To me the whole thing was to envision it in multiple parts. We left a lot out on purpose. It’s definitely intended as a chapter one.
This whole “chapter one” mentality to Hulk’s journey helps explain why developments were seemingly left up in the air for several of the movie’s characters, most notably Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, a.k.a., the Leader. This plot thread, which has remained unresolved for a decade-and-a-half, will get some kind of resolution as the character is set to return in Captain America: Brave New World, the penultimate chapter in Marvel’s Phase 5.
So with ideas for a sequel, as well as a multi-chapter approach to the story, why didn’t The Incredible Hulk 2 come to be in the years following the release of its predecessor?
Following The Release Of The Avengers, Kevin Feige Said Marvel Wasn’t Going To ‘Turn Around And Rush Something’ With The Hulk
In the years between The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, a lot changed about the MCU, most notably the character of Bruce Banner, who would be portrayed by Mark Ruffalo moving forward. Ahead of the release of the critically and financially successful big-budget film, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told CinemaBlend one of the goals of The Avengers was to make the audience care about Hulk but, at the same time, he didn’t want to rush any plans for a second standalone movie:
There are not a lot of plans going forward. The plan was to make an Avengers movie where people like yourself came out of it saying, ‘I love the Hulk’ If we’ve done that, that is a huge achievement. … Frankly, it took a lot of time to get this version of the Hulk. So we’re not going to turn around and rush something and undo all that good will. So we’ll see, but the first step is being very encouraged and hoping that when the world sees the movie they react the same way to the Hulk.
The Marvel chief said the studio had many options for Mark Ruffalo’s version of the character. However, everyone had to figure out how and when to implement those various ideas.
The Marvel Boss Stated In September 2012 That Any Potential Hulk Solo Film Wouldn’t Be A Possibility Until After Avengers: Age of Ultron
As is the case with many Marvel movies, there are great things about The Avengers, with one of the biggest being the way the movie portrayed the Hulk and ultimately, made him into a fan-favorite character. It’s easy to see why fans were clamoring for another movie centered on Bruce Banner, and Kevin Feige himself was caught up in the Hulk fever upon the film’s release. But as the Marvel president told MTV News in September 2012, the big guy wouldn’t be getting a standalone movie until at least after the Avengers sequel:
Do I think Hulk can carry a movie and be as entertaining as he was in Avengers? I do believe that. I do believe he absolutely could. We certainly are not even going to attempt that until [Avengers: Age of Ultron]. So there's a lot of time to think about it.
Interestingly enough, the MCU would later use parts of the “Planet Hulk” story, specifically the gladiator aspect, in Thor: Ragnarok. In fact, despite not having a second solo movie of his own, the Hulk has been a key part of the biggest Marvel movies since then, including his role in the Blip in Avengers: Endgame.
Another Issue Has Been The Hulk’s Complicated Distribution Rights Held Which Are Held By Universal
One of the biggest obstacles for another solo Hulk movie in the past has been the complicated matter of the character’s rights, specifically those for the distribution, which were held by Universal Pictures starting with the release of The Incredible Hulk back in 2008. With Universal holding the distribution rights to the Hulk and his solo movies, that would undoubtedly cause some complications with the release of any new film unless some kind of deal – like the one shared by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures for the Spider-Man movies – is worked out.
There is speculation that the character’s rights could revert back to Marvel in the event Disney and Universal strike some kind of deal for Hulu as early as January 2024, but it remains to be seen how, or if, that would affect The Incredible Hulk 2. However, there was a glimmer of hope in June 2023, when Incredible Hulk was added to the Disney+ library.
We don’t know when, or if, we’ll get to see The Incredible Hulk 2, but the introduction of Bruce Banner’s son, Skaar, during the She-Hulk ending could very well set something up, especially if Marvel goes all-in on the “Planet Hulk” story. But while we wait to see what’s next for the Green Goliath, now would be a good time to check out all the upcoming Marvel movies that will soon be playing in theaters and will be available later on for anyone with a Disney+ subscription.
