The MCU's Hulk actor, Mark Ruffalo, had some dissapointing news for those hoping to see the gamma-green hero in Avengers: Doomsday. Due to Universal holding the distribution rights to the Hulk, Marvel Studios has been limited on how he can be used. Since The Incredible Hulk, this has restricted him to only appearing in the latest Avengers blockbusters and other team-up projects, leaving it uncertain whether there will ever be another Hulk solo movie.
The latest issue of Empire Magazine put the spotlight on Crime 101, a crime thriller in which Thor's Chris Hemsworth stars alongside Hulk's Mark Ruffalo. As part of the interview, Ruffalo confirmed he won't be joining his MCU colleague in Avengers: Doomsday, but remained optimistic for the future.
The 58-year-old Ruffalo, who boarded the MCU in 2012's The Avengers revealed he would be happy to return "as long as they keep finding cool things to do:"
"As long as they keep finding cool things to do with Hulk. It's given me so many gifts. You know, I probably wouldn't be in Crime 101 if it wasn't for [The Avengers]."
Avengers: Doomsday is confirmed to feature three OG Avengers actors, including Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, and Robert Downey Jr. stepping into a new role as Doctor Doom. For now, it seems Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, Jeremy Renner's Hulk, and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow will be absent.
Ruffalo's post-Endgame appearances so far have come in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, What If...?, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. His four-year live-action absence will end on July 31 when he returns in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in which Bruce Banner reportedly has a brand-new job title.
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Mark Ruffalo's absence is likely explained by his commitments to filming his major role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Since Tom Holland's Spider-Man is also expected to miss out on Doomsday, one has to wonder if the street-level outing will take place at the same time as the Multiversal chaos to explain their absence.
Interestingly, Holland will reportedly have a major role in Avengers: Secret Wars after his solo outing, and Ruffalo could perhaps get the same treatment. This may be especially nescesary for the gamma-infused genius, as many have theorized that he and the other OG Avengers will be recast in the Phase 7 soft reboot.
Marvel Studios looks to be addressing one major Hulk complaint in Brand New Day as he will finally unleash the Savage Hulk again and be "scarier than ever." As such, whenever Hulk finally crosses over with other MCU heroes again, perhaps joining Holland in Avengers: Secret Wars, he could pose a bigger threat.
If Bruce Banner truly hulks out in Secret Wars, it would be the first time he has done so in an Avengers movie in almost a decade, since Thanos brutally beat him in the opening of Infinity War. The MCU may also be about the end of another saddening Hulk streak of avoiding showing his gamma transformations.
