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, the "Fast X" director went off-road and shared details on "The Incredible Hulk" sequel that never came to be, describing 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-fueled side. As for the Red Hulk, that's a formidable foe for the big guy that we could have gotten a lot sooner than we did.

Debuting in 2008, Red Hulk was actually Bruce Banner's longtime adversary and in-law, Thunderbolt Ross. Originally portrayed by the late William Hurt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the role was taken over by Harrison Ford, who did in fact turn into the Red Hulk in 2025's "Captain America: Brave New World."

However, had Louis 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 have 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 in recent years, with the introduction of She-Hulk and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner wearing an inhibitor to keep his Hulk at bay — although that savage side did come out again in 2026's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."