The Incredible Hulk Director Saw Red (And Grey) In Scrapped Sequel
In another timeline, Edward Norton would still be going green as Bruce Banner following his only stint as the Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, Marvel went another route with the good doctor with rage issues and, after firing Norton, chose Mark Ruffalo to take over wearing the torn shirt and elasticated loungewear. The rest, as they say, is MCU history. But just because plans took an alternative path doesn't mean "The Incredible Hulk" director Louis Leterrier didn't have gamma-infused ideas for what could come next.
Speaking to ComicBook about his latest blockbuster, "Fast X," Leterrier went off-road and shared details on "The Incredible Hulk" sequel that never came to be, detailing the variety of Hulks he hoped to include. "Yeah, there was like a whole sequel," the director confirmed. "There was like Grey Hulk, Red Hulks — there was a lot of good stuff that we were planning." For those sketchy in their Hulk history, Grey Hulk is a more stable but equally sneaky alternate persona of Bruce's rage-fuelled side. As for the Red Hulk, that's a formidable foe for the big guy that we could've gotten a lot sooner than we think we're going to.
The current Hulks are far from the monsters Leterrier had in mind
Debuting in 2008, Red Hulk was actually Bruce Banner's longtime adversary and in-law, Thunderbolt Ross, who is set to return to the big screen, with Harrison Ford portraying the character (taking over for the late William Hurt). The common consensus among MCU fans is that Red Hulk could be dropping in to cause trouble for Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in "Captain America: Brave New World." However, had Leterrier had his way, we'd have seen him and other anger-induced monsters a lot sooner. "Hulk is a complex character within the Marvel Universe," explained Leterrier. "You want the primeval Hulk ... the rage Hulk. And then when you go Grey Hulk and Smart Hulk, you lose that a little bit, and you get a little bit more kiddish with it."
While it may have been "kiddish," the idea of delving into Bruce's mind would've been an avenue often taken in the comics but not so much on-screen. "But that was the fun of where I was in my movie, with the access to consciousness and all that stuff," recalled Leterrier. "That was really fun. And that's what I was aiming to do," Things have changed somewhat now with the inclusion of "She-Hulk," but Leterrier did show some love for the MCUs newest attorney. "I like 'She-Hulk,' but then you know, yoga between Hulk and ... I was like, 'Okay! Yeah, we're very far from my Hulk.'" Well, at least he's not angry about it.