Mark Ruffalo isn’t one to spin tales about the elaborate opportunities that Marvel gave him. The actor would rather cut to the chase and describe his experience in the most humble of ways. In his latest MCU entry, the Marvel veteran and one of its first original Avengers has had the pleasure of performing in a slapstick comedy setting with a perfectly integrated Hulk who has finally moved on from the events of the Blip.
The Revelation of the MCU Journey of Multiple Hulks
In an in-universe period of over 15 years, the Hulk has transitioned from a scientist to a Bruce-controlled-Hulk to a full Hulk to Bruce-who-couldn’t-turn-into-the-Hulk and finally to a fully integrated persona that has been termed as the Smart Hulk. Through all of these transformations, only one incident remains unaddressed in its entirety and that was the introduction of the comic hero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What began with Edward Norton‘s journey escalated into a full-fledged universe with multiple world-ending events in the decade to come. However, Norton’s part began and ended with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk which was categorically the second Marvel installment in the Kevin Feige-initiated universe. Mark Ruffalo‘s entry came several years later with the 2012 entry of Avengers and there has been no looking back since, as he quickly rose to the top of the charts as the beloved and widely accepted characterization of the angry green monster.
Joking about the unspoken and collective acknowledgment of how the Hulk turned from looking like Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo, the latter says,
“I think it’s really funny. It’s just the reality that we all are often dancing around, but it’s true. I actually joked with [Edward Norton] about this. I was like, ‘It’s like our generation’s Hamlet. Everyone’s going to get a shot at it.’ And there’ll probably be another couple before it’s all over. People will be like, ‘Remember when the Hulk used to look like Mark Ruffalo? Now it looks like Timothée Chalamet.'”
Mark Ruffalo Talks About the Future of Hulk in the MCU
The actor who has portrayed the Hulk on-screen for the longest time has finally addressed the future of the character moving forward. Undoubtedly, there will come a point when Mark Ruffalo will be required to step off and Marvel, it seems, has already initiated the process of the original Avengers passing on the mantle to their younger proteges in the universe. At present, only three of the original six remain and we are witnessing the transitioning of each of them. Ruffalo states,
“The cool thing about this world is that it could just be anything. Five years from now it could totally morph into anything, whatever’s pertinent at the time. I almost see him going back to ‘Berserker Hulk’ or ‘World War Hulk’. It could go anywhere. That’s the exciting part — I’ve played five different versions from beginning to now, and that’s kept it interesting for me and I hope interesting for other people.
When they decided to do She-Hulk — which I thought was really cool and exciting and apt and timely — it was basically like, ‘We would be interested in you passing the baton to her.’ They gave me the premise, which I already knew from the comics, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to do that.’ And I do feel like I’m actually passing the torch on, in a strange way.”
For now, the Marvel universe is watching this transformative shift to a female-centric universe with each Avenger passing on their mantle to their younger proteges, namely, Hawkeye to Kate Bishop, Hulk to She-Hulk, and Thor to Love. We even have followers in the footsteps of Captain Marvel and Ant-Man, namely Ms. Marvel and Cassie Lang. With the current direction that Marvel is headed toward, it’s only a matter of time before we finally get the Young Avengers.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is currently streaming on Disney+
Source: Entertainment Weekly
