Actor Mark Ruffalo has been in the MCU since 2012’s The Avengers. Playing Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a Hulk, the actor took over from actor Edward Norton after the latter had issues with Marvel during the film The Incredible Hulk. Though Ruffalo has not received a standalone Hulk film yet, the actor has been an irreplaceable part of the Avengers.
While Mark Ruffalo has been extremely loyal to the fanbase and the franchise, he recently came under fire for seemingly criticizing Marvel’s new approach to content production. In an interview with GQ, he seemed to have ruffled a few feathers by saying that the pre-Disney Plus MCU had more ‘mystique’ around it and could probably never return to the way it was.
Mark Ruffalo Doesn’t Believe A Solo Hulk Film Will Get Made
Mark Ruffalo has been a part of the OG Avengers and remains one of the only heroes in the gang not to have a solo film or a Disney Plus series. The actor has been in the MCU since 2012, debuting in the MCU as a post-The Incredible Hulk Dr. Bruce Banner, who joins the Avengers to defeat Loki and his army of Chitauri in New York.
Ruffalo’s performance as the troubled yet cheerful Bruce Banner has been lauded, and he has been featured in multiple films apart from the Avengers franchise. The actor has also starred in Thor Ragnarok, Iron Man 3, Captain Marvel, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He was last seen in the Disney Plus series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
Mark Ruffalo recently revealed how he felt about his experience as an MCU actor and how he felt about not getting a solo film. Though a solo Hulk film has been teased multiple times, Mark Ruffalo seemed pessimistic about the prospect, mainly because of the cost of featuring a fully CGI hero in the entire film. He said in an interview with GQ,
“I’d love to do a standalone Hulk, I just don’t think that’s ever going to happen. It’s very expensive if you did a whole movie, which is why they use the Hulk so sparingly. I priced myself out.”
There have been two solo Hulk films and a whole season of She-Hulk. Despite the presence of these properties, Mark Ruffalo still seemed to be unclear about the future of the character in the MCU. Tatiana Maslany, who played She-Hulk in the Disney Plus series, also expressed similar budgetary concerns about a second season of She-Hulk getting made (via Deadline).
Mark Ruffalo Criticized The MCU’s New Creative Direction
The MCU has been facing a downward slump in the past few years ever since it decided to produce more content for its parent company Disney’s streaming platform Disney Plus. The studio shifted its focus from producing more theatrical releases to creating shows for its streaming platform. These shows have been garnering mixed to negative responses.
The more shows and films the studio seems to be churning out, the quality seems to decrease. The fans have also been criticizing the dwindling quality of the shows and films, with its recent theatrical release The Marvels being its worst box office performer ever. Though it has seen some ups in the form of the second season of Loki, the franchise does not seem to be as good as its ‘Infinity Saga’ days.
Actor Mark Ruffalo also addressed the downward trend of the MCU’s quality in an interview with GQ. While he did not insult the franchise directly, he mentioned how there was more mystery in the franchise when fans had to wait for a while to know more about the storyline. He said,
“I think the expansion into streaming was really exciting, but the thing about Marvel movies is you had to wait three years and that created a mystique. These corrections could be really positive things. Will it be what it was? I don’t know.”
Marvel fans were quick to be concerned about Mark Ruffalo’s future in the franchise as he openly criticized the studio’s efforts amidst its ongoing identity crisis. Fans also came to his support saying that the actor had nothing to lose since he would never get his solo film.
have they quietly fired him or something? feel like surely he isn’t allowed to be saying stuff like this https://t.co/XuSRSwYr3D
— oscar (@onthewayjay) February 23, 2024
He’s probably trying to get fired lol
— Luke of Arrakis (@WwwLukethoughts) February 23, 2024
I think everyone is either done with their commitments and sounding off or just distancing themselves in general – and RDJ and some of them are making it sound like they’re a) being offered a lot to come back and b) are glad to be out there!
— Myles McHale (@mchale_myles) February 23, 2024
I mean, he didn’t say anything bad or “hurtful” about the company. Just saying things we all already know.
— Brandin Williams (@SavedByTheNerds) February 24, 2024
He’s right about the shows. I said the same thing. The series killed the films.
— Edwin M (@EdwinChills) February 24, 2024
After they blueballed hulk since infinity war yeah I’d be pissed too
— RPA🐝🇵🇭 (@3thirdlostsoul) February 24, 2024
Mark Ruffalo is up for an Oscar this year for his role in Poor Things, which he competes for with his MCU co-star Robert Downey Jr. One of the OG Avengers who is up for an Academy Award criticizing their own home franchise could be a huge wake-up call for Marvel especially if they plan to include them in the upcoming Avengers 5 film.
