Marvel Studios continues to reclaim the rights to various superhero properties. After the Fox merger, they acquired the X-Men and Fantastic Four and now, they may have snagged another big (literally) piece.
According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us a She-Hulk show was coming to Disney Plus, WB is developing a Justice League Dark series for HBO Max and [SPOILERS] would be revealed as a traitor in The Rise of Skywalker – Marvel has reportedly gotten the rights back to the Hulk, which Universal owned for many years. Of course, this was rumored a few months ago, but our sources have confirmed that it’s indeed happened and that means the door is now open to make another solo Hulk movie. Though just like with the Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios will no doubt be hoping that the third time’s the charm for the hero.
Ang Lee famously directed the 2003 version with Eric Bana in the titular role. And while he gets points for literally ripping the panels of the comics off the page and bringing them onto the screen, the story of a troubled relationship between a father and son felt a little too adult at the time. Plus, there’s Hulk Dogs in the movie, which sound cool on paper but in reality were a little lame.
Then came the 2008 film with Edward Norton in the lead role. Fans wanted more action and they definitely got it, but the pic has also kind of become the black sheep of the MCU. The movie was made at the same time as Iron Man and was sort of shoehorned into the larger universe at the end.
Of course, Ruffalo eventually took over the role after Norton and the studio split over creative differences and has been playing the hero ever since. And given that everyone knows the backstory of Bruce Banner at this point, they wouldn’t have to waste time with that in a new solo effort.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For now, the only thing we’ve been told is that the rights to the Hulk are back at Marvel Studios. No solo film has been confirmed for the character as of yet, but the possibility is definitely on the table and even though there’ve been whispers that Banner will soon pass the mantle onto She-Hulk so to speak, and make his exit from the MCU, Marvel could always go the Black Widow route and do some kind of prequel.
In any case, with the rights now back under their control, there are a lot of different options available to them and hopefully we’ll get more clarity on what they plan to do with the character in the not too distant future.
