Discuss: Should Hulk be the Villain in the Avengers Movie?

Posted by Conrad Rothbaum (conrad@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 15, 2008

Ever since Marvel decided to branch out, it appears that cross pollination has been #1 on their agenda. With Iron Man containing a Nick Fury cameo (Samuel L. Jackson, no less) after the credits, and The Incredible Hulk containing a Tony Stark cameo before the credits, we can see the bricks being laid in the foundation of an Avengers movie. Soon after, Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and of course, The Avengers were all given release dates. It would not be out of line to assume that they will all tie into each other.

That said, it was very interesting to hear from MTV’s Splash Page that Iron Man writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby would like to see the Hulk take the role of a misunderstood villain in the Avengers movie. In Fergus’ words:

“You don’t want like 10 super-badass good guys fighting together. Where’s the fun in that? Let’s break it off a little. Friends or colleagues who become enemies is always an interesting thing because you know it’s based on love and friendship and that’s always the worst thing to have turn bad — is someone you actually care about and someone you actually believe in.”

Fergus’ words take on more meaning knowing that he and Ostby are penning another as-yet-unannounced Marvel movie. Louis Letterier, director of The Incredible Hulk, is not opposed to The Hulk as a bad guy either. Do you recall the last shot of Edward Norton in Hulk, with his ambiguous grin underneath glowing green eyes?

Letterier:

“I left the door open for whoever’s going to direct ‘The Avengers’ with our last shot. Edward [Norton] and I, we consciously decided to make the last shot of the movie when he opens his eyes and he smirks at the camera,” Leterrier told us. “Is he enjoying it? Is he malicious?”

It is also interesting to note that in the first volume of The Ultimates (the recent Millar/Hitch comic book reboot of the Avengers), the Hulk plays the role of the villain in the team’s first big battle in Times Square.

This vast network of Marvel tie-in movies gets me excited—I hope the stories they tell weave into each other not just plot-wise, but with characterization. Is that too much to ask for? I hope not.

Are you interested to see Hulk square off against Captain America, Thor and Iron Man? If not, who do you think would be a good foil for the team?

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