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Edward Norton likes the idea of Hulk as The Avengers villain

Liam — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:56:58 +0000

Even though Marvel aren’t ready to reveal anything just yet, there is a good chance that The Hulk will be the villain in The Avengers. They’ve been talking about the idea for a while and even The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier hinted at it last year when commenting on the films closing shot.

“…if you decide that he’s smiling, in control, then he’s a good guy, that’s ‘The Hulk 2,’” he continued. “If Hulk is a failure, then he looks up and smirks and that’s eventually the Hulk of the Avengers — the uncontrollable beast that they need to team up to stop.”

If the director knew of Marvel’s intentions then one would assume Edward Norton would be in on it too, and from this interview with MTV it seems he is.

“In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem,” said Norton.
In Toronto to promote his well-received film “Leaves of Grass” at the International Film Festival, Norton said he could definitely see the Hulk character becoming something that the rest of Marvel’s superheroes joined forces to battle. After all, Hulk’s never been shy about telling the world he’s “the strongest there is.”
“I think that’s a fun way to go with it,” said Norton.

If Norton likes the idea, which he does, then he could return as Bruce Banner in The Avengers. When The Incredible Hulk came out Norton and Marvel weren’t the best of friends as they had disagreements over the final cut and Norton didn’t receive credit for rewriting the script. At the time I am sure Norton wouldn’t have wanted to work with Marvel again, but time as passed and he may be up for it again. He’s probably contracted to return anyway.

Edward Norton not in Iron Man 2, says Edward Norton

Liam — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:41:41 +0000

Last month there was an rumor floating around that said Edward Norton would be appearing in Iron Man 2 as both Bruce Banner and The Hulk. If this were to be the case then it would be very cool indeed, and it would help pave the way for The Avengers, as Robert Downey Jr. appeared as Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk after the credits, which was then followed by Samuel L. Jackson turning up in Iron Man as Nick Fury. Well Norton recently addressed the rumor when asked about it by MTV:

“I heard that. I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Norton told MTV News. “I am not in ‘Iron Man 2′ to my knowledge.”

Of course he could be trying to keep the surprise alive by not revealing it, although it could be the case that he just…isn’t in it. But even if he was I wouldn’t want to know now anyway. If there are any cameos or surprise appearances by any future Avengers then we will probably hear about it next May when Iron Man 2 hits our screens (or if an actor reveals it beforehand).

When will we next see The Hulk on-screen?

Liam — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:14:43 +0000

In 2012 there’s a superhero party and everyone’s invited. Well almost everyone anyway. Last week producer Kevin Feige revealed that The Avengers line-up will consist of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Nick Fury. We may also see appearances from some members of the Hulk universe and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. But who are these Hulk universe people? And what about The Hulk himself? Well Edward Norton was recently asked if The Hulk was in his future and he responded with:

“I probably won’t comment on that just because they keep a pretty tight rein on what they are letting out,” Norton said in a group interview today.
Deferring to Marvel suggests a cordial relationship with the studio. Rumors surrounded the release of The Incredible Hulk that Norton was not happy with the final cut. Already he seemed an unusual participant in a major superhero movie, and the scant press he did fueled rumors that he preferred an alternate cut of the film. Now he is suggesting that he’s following company orders.
“I’ll let them [address it],” Norton said.

Now, I don’t really like reading too much into quotes out of context, but if he wasn’t going to be playing Bruce Banner again wouldn’t he just say “no”, rather than what he did say? What makes this more interesting is that NuketheFridge are reporting that we could be seeing Bruce Banner in Iron Man 2:

Our Marvel Movie mole has informed Nuke The Fridge of yet another cameo in the upcoming “Iron Man 2” film due out next summer. Our confidential source first reported that Stan Lee will make a brief appearance in the second Iron Man film as Larry King. Now rumor has it that Edward Norton will have a possible cameo as both Bruce Banner and the Hulk.

This should be taken with a pinch of salt and if it is true we probably won’t know until Iron Man 2 is released next May. However, Robert Downey Jr. did appear in The Incredible Hulk in a scene after the credits, so maybe Marvel want Edward Norton to return the favour?

If Edward Norton and The Hulk do appear in Iron Man 2 then it could mean The Hulk may be attending the superhero party after all. And who wouldn’t want to see The Hulk in The Avengers?

Edward Norton Uncertain About Hulk Franchise

Liam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:11:58 +0000

Apparently The Incredible Hulk came out this summer. The reason I say apparently is because I didn’t get the chance to see it, and a few weeks after it was released The Dark Knight came out and dominated the world, erasing the green man from my brain. Even though I cannot comment on how good it was, it has a respectable 7.5/10 on IMDB, which shows quite a few people liked it. However, it made around $10 million less compared to the 2003 version (considering the budgets) so unlike Iron Man, Marvel are less likely to green light a sequel.

Edward Norton recently spoke to MTV about whether he had heard anything from Marvel regarding future movies (whether it be another Hulk movie or the planned Avengers movie)

“The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque,” Norton told MTV News. “I won’t say [they're] obtuse, but I don’t have any idea what they want to do.”
Norton said he’s also been kept in the dark regarding any plans for him, in his role as Hulk’s alter-ego Bruce Banner, to appear in Marvel’s big team-up project, “The Avengers.” The film, which is expected to feature The Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and several other Marvel characters, is currently scheduled for a 2011 release.
“They’ve got this notion of collecting the Marvel characters,” said Norton, who appeared a bit skeptical of Marvel’s ambitious plans for the project. “Who knows where they’ll go?”

So there we have it, Edward Norton hasn’t heard anything and we haven’t learned anything new. However, considering the problems Norton and Marvel had during the making of The Incredible Hulk, Marvel may plan on using The Hulk in The Avengers, but not Bruce Banner, therefore Norton wouldn’t be needed.

Edward Norton Likes Lord Of The Rings

Liam — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:59:09 +0000

Edward Norton has said that if it were not for The Lord of the Rings trilogy he may not have taken on the role of Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.

He says, “I remember when I heard they were making The Lord Of The Rings, I was like, ‘God, if they cheese those out, I’m going to be so disappointed.’
“(But) those films were inspiring to me in terms of deciding to take The Incredible Hulk.”

Norton was known for taking on ‘good movies’ such as American History X and Fight Club, so a comic book adaptation was a bit of a risk for him, and we will soon see if it paid off.

In other Hulk news, director Louis Leterrier spoke to MTV about the possibility of the Hulk being the villain in The Avengers. Click here to read what he had to say!

Edward Norton Not Given Writing Credit For The Incredible Hulk?

Liam — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:39:36 +0000

According to IESB, Zak Penn has been given the sole writing credit for The Incredible Hulk, despite the fact that Edward Norton re-wrote his draft. It is well known that one of the only reasons Norton agreed to do Hulk were if he had creative input, in this case re-writing the script.

The IESB contacted Zak Penn’s office to ask about the credit. They confirmed Penn will be receiving sole writing credit on the film.
Universal reps are saying, “WGA determined the writing credit not Zak or Edward or Universal or Marvel. WGA always determines final writing credit for our films right before the film comes out. Up until that time, we include the writers on the project to date.”
A call to the WGA got this response, “Zak Penn is receiving sole credit for story and screenplay.”
Apparently, there was arbitration, which is quite common since two screenwriters were listed. The WGA sided with Zak Penn.

In my opinion it wouldn’t be hard just to give them both credit. I’m not a WGA script expert but it would seem the logical and fair thing to do. It’s not as though the script had input from many writers such as Catwoman (14+ writers in total). In cases where there are lots of writers then I suppose this process of choosing is better, but when only two writers have worked on the script it would see, fair to credit both.

If everyone from the catering ladies to the lighting guys get credited than surely one of the writers should get credit somewhere.

Incredible New Hulk Clips!

Liam — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:59:58 +0000

Two new clips from The Incredible Hulk have smashed their way online, via Yahoo!, IGN and MTV. (MTV suck because I cannot watch the new clip due to the place I live! Its the damn internet for Christ’s sake!)

Anyway, the clips are awesome. This time last month I wasn’t expecting much from the green man’s second outing, but now I can’t wait to see it. I don’t expect the whole movie to be full of Hulk smashes but if these clips are anything to go by, we are in for a treat.

We Have A New Incredible Hulk Trailer!

Liam — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:23:34 +0000

I’ve got so used to The Dark Knight’s recent viral campaign that I forgot that trailers can just appear online. Just like that…online. No running around cities in the dark looking for clues. It’s just here!

Below you will see a new trailer for The Incredible Hulk, which is much better than the first one. We get to see more of the story, more action, more effects. I am actually looking forward to this movie now!

New Hulk Pics!

Liam — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:01:33 +0000

Yahoo! have posted some new pictures from The Incredible Hulk. There are new shots of Liv Tyler as Betty, Abdominal looking angry and The Hulk looking angrier, so much so, that he is throwing cars around.

Click to enlarge!

Brand New Hulk Images!

Liam — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:25:03 +0000

Empire are going Hulk crazy! First they will be featuring a very cool 3D cover on the next issue of their magazine, and now they have two new exclusive images!

Check them out below!