Disney Announces Removal of 1 Iconic Marvel Movie from Hulu

Disney confirmed that one legacy Marvel movie will no longer be available to stream via the Hulu service.

Throughout 2023, streaming services across the entertainment industry have been fairly regular in updating their cache of projects, particularly Disney+ as Disney gets the rights to old movies developed outside of the MCU. 

One big update came when Disney+ added an entirely new section for the X-Men after their character rights went to Disney, although other services also feature old Marvel projects from before the MCU's existence as well. 

Hulu Losing Classic Marvel Movie

Hulu sent out a press release noting that 2003's Hulk will be removed from the service on September 30.

Following Hulk's removal, 2004's The Punisher and 2008's Punisher: War Zone will be two of the few remaining Marvel movies on the service.

Directed by Ang Lee, Hulk was the first-ever theatrical movie for Marvel's angry green Avenger when it debuted on June 17, 2003. The film only earned $245.4 million at the box office and didn't fare any better on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a 63% Tomatometer rating and a 29% Audience Meter rating.

Featuring Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross, and Sam Elliott as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, Hulk puts the character's full origin story at the forefront as an accident with a gamma radiation experiment goes haywire. This leads to him becoming a target of the Army and the US government, all while Bruce's father (played by Nick Nolte) lets him in on a dark plan ahead.

This also comes after the MCU's Hulk-centric solo movie, 2008's The Incredible Hulk, found its way onto Disney+ on June 16.

Will 2003's Hulk Come to Disney+?

Looking at Disney+'s consistent updates over the past couple of years, it's highly realistic to believe that Hulk could join the party at some point or another, but the real question is when it will move over. 

Just recently, several Spider-Man movies made their way over to the Disney streamer after their contracts expired on other services, with Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, and Tom Hardy's movies now available to stream.

The streamer even began adding R-rated films from Marvel history like Hugh Jackman's Logan, which seems to be breaking down any kind of barrier for films like Hulk to take that same path.

With The Incredible Hulk already on Disney+, the only thing left to settle is when exactly Hulk's streaming rights will be either on the open market or transferred over to Universal or Disney.

With rumors indicating that Disney may have already gained the rights for the Hulk and his movies back from Universal, that day could potentially come sooner rather than later.