Discuss: Does The Hulk Need Another Film of His Own?

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 21, 2008

With The Incredible Hulk making its way onto DVD today, it has got all the various deciders at Marvel making the press rounds. And with that, of course, comes plenty of questions about the plans that Marvel has for its green behemoth. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige caught up with MTV News this week, talking about how proud he was of the film, one that was a major gamble for the fledgling studio. It was a gamble in the sense that it was an attempt to reboot a character whose last on screen appearance, in 2003’s Hulk from director Ang Lee, had left so many fans very disenchanted. As well, it was only the second self-financed Marvel venture — and how could they possibly top the $300-plus million dollar earner Iron Man?

And while Hulk vs. Iron Man is a debate left for movie website forums and watercoolers, one thing is clear — The Incredible Hulk was a financial and critical success compared to Ang Lee’s film. So why not make a second one? If Iron Man 2 and 3 are already on the calendar and characters like Thor and Captain America are gearing up for their films, why not go ahead with another Hulk movie? That is the question that MTV posed to Feige, who had this to say in response:

The truth is that Hulk has had two films in the past five years, and it’s time to give some of the other guys a turn. But certainly what we are doing is suggesting and cross-pollinating the characters between films, and like reading a comic, I’d like to set that expectation that anything can happen — and anyone can pop up — in anybody else’s story. I would expect that people may see the Hulk again soon before he is again carrying his own film.

So there you have it — the Hulk will make another appearance on the big screen, he will just have to do it in someone else’s movie. Of course, from there we could speculate in all sorts of directions. This could be to imply that he would be held off for the Avengers movie, but also that he might show up in Iron Man 2. Either way, it is clear that Hulk is to become a supporting character in Marvel’s upcoming slate. The question is whether or not there is anything wrong with that. Personally, I don’t think so. In fact, I would be interested to see the Hulk become Iron Man’s adversary in his next film — that might not be a bad idea, though logistically (as in, getting Ed Norton to sign on), that does present some issues.

But lets put all the logistical issues aside for a moment and ask the real question: Where do you think Hulk should show up next? Should he get his own sequel, or are you okay with him cross-pollinating with other Marvel characters?

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