Given the monumental success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can’t really fault three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton for his bitterness toward what’s inarguably the only misstep in the near unblemished history of the highest grossing film franchise of all-time, seeing as it did cost him a spot amongst Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Said resentment was reportedly on display once again during the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis. According to Ryan Parker, senior staff writer for The Hollywood Reporter, Norton “took a shot” at Marvel during his portion of the Roast, saying that he was difficult on set because he wanted a better script from the studio. Ouch!
As I’m sure most of the world is aware of by now, Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, another three-time Academy Award nominee, as Bruce Banner/the Hulk in the MCU. Currently, no definitive reason has been given as to why the two parted ways, though from Marvel’s perspective, difficulties on set and price point attributed to Norton not being brought back. Conversely, the actor’s stated he chose never to play the Hulk again because he “wanted more diversity” in his career.
Presently sitting at 67% on the Tomatometer, The Incredible Hulk – directed by Louis Leterrier and penned by Marvel’s The Avengers co-writer Zak Penn – wasn’t necessarily an audience favorite, nor was it able to light up the box office, earning just $263 million globally on a production budget of $150 million. And while most critics and fans agree that it was a far-superior effort than Ang Lee’s dud in 2003, it’s still seen as one of the MCU’s weakest films to date.
As for the aforementioned Comedy Central Roast, you can catch it on July 29th, where you’ll be able to see Norton’s comments on The Incredible Hulk in full.
