Marvel Studios Pres. Kevin Feige Has Some Ideas For A Standalone Hulk Film
Posted by eelyajekiM | September 24th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already underway with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World well into different stages of production. Films under the plans for Phase Two also include Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and possibly Ant-Man. All those films would lead up to The Avengers 2. But the one thing you don’t see in that line up is a standalone Hulk film. With Mark Ruffalo signed on to appear in multiple Marvel-related films, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has a slight idea of what the plot for the Hulk standalone film could be and when we could be seeing it.
In an interview with MTV, Feige said seeing a Hulk standalone film could come as early as after The Avengers 2, which hits theaters May 1, 2015. It’s way too early to put an exact date on the Marvel calendar, but Feige does believe that the Hulk is worthy of having his own standalone film, it’s just a matter of finding the right story.
As to what the story could be, here is what Feige had to say:
I don’t think there’s a lot that we couldn’t do someday, as the cinematic universe continues to grow and expand and get as big as the comic book universe. ”Planet Hulk’ is a cool story, ‘World War Hulk’ is a cool story. I think there’s pitfalls of continuity-overload, and mythology getting so dense that it almost collapses in on itself [with those cosmic projects]. It happens every few decades or so in the comics. Apart from that, I’d say everything is on the table.
Those are definitely significant stories for Hulk. In Planet Hulk, the green muscle bound hero was banished to a desolate planet by Iron Man and Dr. Strange. There he leads an uprising of other alien beings and eventually beomes the planet’s ruler. World War Hulk follows the events of Planet Hulk, where Hulk takes his planet’s army back to Earth, where he takes his revenge out on the very people who banished him. Both stories were written by Greg Pak.
In theory, if there were to be a standalone Hulk film, the two aforementioned storylines could lead up to the events for a possible Avengers 3 film. So for a Planet Hulk film to work, the Hulk would need to do something so devastating in The Avengers 2, that the team is forced to make the decision of banishing him into another planet. Eventually, the Hulk would become the planet’s ruler by overthrowing its king. This could mean that World War Hulk could serve as plot for The Avengers 3.
None of that is confirmed right now, but clearly Feige wants to get the ball rolling on a standalone Hulk film as soon as possible. It would be a dark twist to see a former Avenger fight against those who banished him.
The World War Hulk storyline is brilliant! If that served as the plot for Avengers 3, no geek in their right mind would miss it. The Avengers need a solid anti-hero and the Hulk is the perfect choice. My only concern is waiting until after 2015 and likely beyond means a few of the actors (RDJ namely) will be a little too old for the roles.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
