Marvel Has Big Plans For The Hulk As Hero
Marvel execs are notoriously tightlipped and no formal announcements have been made. But now SVP Marvel licensing Paul Gitter tells Forbes magazine that he and his colleagues have been “pleasantly surprised by the phenomenal response” to the Hulk already &mdash&; even before The Avengers opened. “His sales are up in a major way. We repositioned him from where he was always misunderstood to now depicting him in a more heroic and aspirational manner.” Now fanboys have their first look at Mark Ruffalo’s iteration of the Hulk and they like what they see. Gitter says Marvel “will spin him off to a stand-alone program next year,” which Forbes says is “presumably supported by another big budget franchise movie in 2015. The entertainment studio is also exploring ways to promote Hulk as a ‘corporate icon’ similar to MetLife’s usage of Peanuts’ Snoopy, with Hulk’s image conveying a message about channeling strength to overcome workplace challenges.” This is a marked change from what Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Collider recently. “…Every time I see a good take or a good storyline or read some good pages, I think, ‘Oh should we make a movie about this?’ But with the Hulk we’re gonna play it very carefully. We had varying degrees of success on those first two movies, so we’re not gonna say, ‘Oh we did it! Another one!’ We’re gonna be smart about it and play it out. There are no plans right now to do another Hulk. Hulk might be just the special guest in Avengers movies, who knows?” Feige also told The Huffington Post that Marvel put “everything they had and everything they were going for into Hulk’s appearance in Avengers” so it’s “mission accomplished at this point.” According to Collider, a Hulk TV series is in development by Guillermo del Toro and Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick that would develop the original story of Bruce Banner in his mid-20s, and Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel Television, recently confirmed that the live-action show is in active development at ABC.
Related: ‘AVENGERS’ BOX OFFICE: Is This Hollywood’s Biggest Ever – Or Not?
Also look for Marvel to “synergize” the Avengers into a “multi-platform brand that can live 365 days a year,” Gitter says. To that end, Marvel is introducing digital initiatives, new print and comic book titles, and The Avengers animated TV series in 2013, in addition to the threequel and sequel films in the works. Although the Black Widow isn’t yet scheduled for her own stand-alone movie, the character’s lifestyle will inspire a collection of athletic gear and beauty products. As for whether Marvel superheroes will join Disney theme parks or star on Broadway, Gitter doesn’t directly confirm these initiatives, only stating that Marvel is “exploring all land-based opportunities, including stand-alone shows and attractions.”
Not having ever read an Avengers comic (true) I was thoroughly entertained today….funny, smart, thrilling…. Hulk kept me in stitches.
Hulk is dumb — and by that I mean the actual character is a dumb idea.
So is that stupider Jekill and Hide storey, I mean, the ‘id’ comin’ out, what kind of hippy shit is that?
All this talk about minor characters like Black Widow possibly having a standalone movie, and they did’nt even include 2 of the founding members of the Avengers. Where are the Pyms, goddammit!?! Fucking assholes.
Where are John Steed and Emma Peel? They are the original Avengers.
Actually, John Steed and Cathy Gale are the original Avengers [unless you want to go back to the Police Surgeon series that led directly into The Avengers - then it would be John Steed and Dr. Simon Locke].
Just sayin’…
Thank you! Every time I hear someone say “The Avengers,” all I can think of is, “Mrs. Peel, we’re needed.”
Times are tough and we don’t think your performance merits a raise this year.
HULK SMASH!
Best corporate icon ever.
1) Avengers Hulk worked better because he was in control and it wasn’t all angsty daddy and girlfriend issues.
2) Maybe this will get Disney off their ass and convince them to greenlight the entire Marvel park they have drawn up for California but gathering dust. Talk about missed opportunities… they could be raking in the cash with that.
Hulk/Bruce Banner is a great character. And I particularly loved the gray Hulk Peter David/Todd McFarlane Hulk comics back in the late 1980s. The material is there; it just depends on the script writer being able to deliver a great movie.
Everybody have there own opinion what Hulk they like. But I like my Hulk to be green.
The Hulk will work better if they increase his power of speech (similar to the gruff Avengers cartoon version), because there’s more dramatic interest to a character who can talk to others. Increase his I.Q. slightly — like, to a six-year-old boy’s level — so he’s more than just a super-powered gorilla. Then surround Banner with some normal, sympathetic, audience-point-of-view characters. Hulk is the flip-side of Banner — in Banner is intellect is in command, but the emotions are still simmering underneath; as Hulk his emotions are in control, but the intellect is still simmering underneath.
The Hulk worked in Avengers because the CGI was much much better .
The Lee Hulk was a joke and took you out of the movie as soon as he showed up.
Norton’s Hulk was a little better but there was no connection between Norton as Banner and the Hulk in that movie .
This Avengers Hulk finally got it right .It look liked Ruffalo actually turned into the Hulk rather than some fake computer creation – you could see Ruffalo’s personality in the Hulk and that made all the difference.
Agree with you on that. Finally the Hulk was a character due to advanced CGI tech. But I also think Mark Ruffalo and the character based script gave it some weight (yes the Hulk is tragic character)AND Mark actually looks a bit like a miniature Hulk. Anyway I am glad they are doing some more movies with him. Hopefully they will be as great as Iron Man – Capt. America and Thor were a bit too simplistic for my taste. I could see something interesting in a Stark/Hulk movie. Maybe with a super outlandish script that completely departs with traditional comic book adaptations. Shane Black are you listening?
Absolutely loved the movie!! Standing ovation to everyone involved!! Please get the next installment into production immediately. I don’t think I can wait three years. Please?