Marvel's Kevin Feige confirms the end of Hulk in ways nobody saw coming

Mark Ruffalo revealed the potential future of the Hulk, which has disappointed fans. The actor, who reprises the role of the green superhero, disclosed during a Question & Answer session that Kevin Feige had told him Bruce Banner would never have a stand-alone movie. He was going to be part of an ensemble cast.

As per Mark Ruffalo, while the actor was interested in having a solo film displaying the mellowing personality of the angry mutant Bruce, Feige planned to show the transformation through four movies with multiple casts.

As such, the gamma mutant hero only had one introductory solo movie and ended up being an Avengers soldier whose solo journey was not in focus. This came as a letdown for Hulk fans who were hoping to see more of Mark Ruffalo in a standalone movie, in the wake of Bruce’s cousin She-Hulk getting a show to herself.

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Mark Ruffalo’s revelation suggests Kevin Feige is ending Hulk’s journey in the MCU

On Sunday, February 11, 2024, Mark Ruffalo spoke during a Question & Answer session at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. When asked about whether he will be part of the next expected 2025 Marvel movie, Captain America: Brave New World, the Oscar nominee replied in affirmative.

When moderator Anne Thompson asked whether he was allowed to talk about it, Ruffalo agreed and said it was going to be great.

While the audience got the impression that Ruffalo was going to play Bruce Banner in the 2025 Captain America movie, Variety says that he misspoke. As per the media report, he meant Brave New World was going to be a great movie as Marvel’s next and not about being part of it. The Poor Things actor is not expected to be part of the next Captain America movie’s cast.

However, Ruffalo further spoke about his take on the gamma rays victim hero, from the rage-filled monster to the mild-mannered Dr. Bruce Banner.

It is believed that Ruffalo misspoke (Image via X@screentime)

While speaking on the topic at length, the actor spoke about his approach to Kevin Feige if he had a solo movie. To that, Feige replied that the physicist superhero was not getting another standalone. Ruffalo would need to transform Bruce Banner’s personality over four movies with an ensemble cast.

When the audience reacted to Ruffalo’s words, the actor addressed the audience directly confirming that MCU was not giving him a standalone Hulk.

“I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but that’s not happening.”

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Bruce Banner's development under MCU

Ruffalo as Hulk in MCU (Image via Marvel)

Bruce Banner started his journey under the MCU with a standalone 2008 movie, The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton in the titular role. The genius physicist who transformed into a green brute strength after exposure to gamma rays was initially projected as a frustrated anger machine.

However, Norton was replaced with Ruffalo in 2012’s The Avengers, which had an ensemble cast. Starting here, Ruffalo has appeared in 2013’s Iron Man 3, the three Avengers movies, 2019’s Captain Marvel, 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and more. On television, he appeared in Loki and She-Hulk.

However, a solo movie does not seem to be in the pipeline as Walt Disney Studios holds the rights to any solo Hulk movie and Feige cannot be a decider on that. Add to that, the fact that Ruffalo will not be in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, and it seems like Hulk is ready to retire from the MCU.

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Mark Ruffalo has given out accidental gaffes on previous occasions

The actor claimed interest in a solo Hulk movie (Image via X@MarkRuffalo)

The information about not having any standalone movie on the green monster in future MCU projects was disclosed by Mark Ruffalo accidentally. The actor is known to have had many such accidental PR episodes in the past.

In a July 2017 interview with Good Morning America, he had spoiled the ending of Avengers: Infinity War. He made a similar faux pas in April 2019 when he spoiled the ending of Avengers: Endgame. Another blooper was when, in October 2017, his Facebook page had a live-stream of the first 20 minutes of Thor: Ragnarok.

During this Q&A session, besides giving out the future of the green superhero's solo movie, Ruffalo also misspoke, confusing the audience into thinking he was going to be in the next Captain America movie when that was not the case, as told by Variety.