Due to Black Widow and then Hawkeye on Disney+, at this point in the MCU, every original Avenger star has received their own project with only one exception: the Hulk's Mark Ruffalo. On the heels of 2008's Iron Man, Marvel Studios released The Incredible Hulk; however, in that origin film, Bruce Banner was played by Edward Norton, not Ruffalo. While a future Hulk film starring Mark Ruffalo is highly unlikely, it sounds like the actor will get considerable screentime in Marvel's upcoming She-Hulk series for Disney+.
Starring Tatiana Maslany as lawyer Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner's cousin, She-Hulk will be a half-hour legal comedy where Walters copes with "going green" and her career.
In addition to Maslany, the series stars Tim Roth as Abomination, Jameela Jamil as Titania, and naturally, Mark Ruffalo as Doctor Banner or Professor Hulk. Fans knew the Avenger would have a presence in the show, especially due to 2021 Disney+ Day footage which showed him as both Bruce Banner and Smart Hulk.
However, it now sounds like the Hulk star will have a significant role and opportunities to show a different side of his character.
Mark Ruffalo Discusses Hulk Interactions in Disney+'s She-Hulk
In an interview with Access Hollywood on the red carpet of Netflix's The Adam Project, via Twitter user @tatwalters, Ruffalo discussed his "long, long scenes" with Maslany's She-Hulk and how audiences have never "seen the Hulk interact with people the way he does in that show:"
"Tatiana Maslany is freaking legendary as the She-Hulk. I'm passing the 'banner' onto her. Yeah, there's some really good, funny, cool, long, long scenes between the Professor and her. We've never really seen the Hulk interact with people the way he does in that show. It will be really interesting."
Professor Hulk Passes the "Banner?"
To date, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk has been a rather isolated character. While he and Scarlet Johansson's Natasha Romanoff almost struck up a relationship in Avengers: Age of Ultron, that never truly got off the ground. Also, unlike other Avengers, Marvel audiences know little about his family and have rarely seen him with any others apart from the Avengers themselves.
Therefore, She-Hulk will be a first. Not only is Walters his cousin, but she's also like him in terms of her condition. It's no wonder that Hulk's interactions with her will be different and more revealing than what audiences have seen in films prior.
Also, in regard to different sides of Hulk's character, it's important to note that Ruffalo referred to the Hulk as "Professor." That's a significant reveal since Hulk's status at this point in the MCU timeline has been the source of debate.
While Hulk was Professor Hulk at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the post-credits scene for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings showed Ruffalo, once again, as Bruce Banner. To make things all the more confusing, the first bits of footage from She-Hulk included scenes with Ruffalo in both forms.
Since the actor claims that these "long, long scenes" involve Professor Hulk and Maslany, it sounds like MCU fans can expect plenty more of Endgame Hulk in the 2022 series.
The new question is whether Marvel audiences can expect more Hulk after She-Hulk. After all, Ruffalo did confess he's passing Bruce Banner's "banner" to Maslany's She-Hulk, similar to how Jeremy Renner passed the Hawkeye mantle to Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. However, whether Renner is totally done in the MCU is still unknown.
As for that question and Ruffalo's future within the MCU, fans may have to wait a little longer for the answer.
She-Hulk is expected to be released on Disney+ sometime in 2022.
