Fans of the Hulk continue to rally for Bruce Banner to appear in his own standalone movie despite Mark Ruffalo's insistence that this is not possible. The actor spoke to Collider in April to offer a simple explanation on why The Hulk cannot have a Marvel spin-off film.
"As far as a Hulk movie, a standalone Hulk movie, Marvel doesn't really have the rights to that yet," Ruffalo had said. "That's still Universal's property, so there's that issue. That's a big impediment to moving forward with that."
He did add a hopeful note for Hulk fans: "Now I don't think that's insurmountable, by the way, but I don't know where it's going from here for me."
It certainly isn't insurmountable. Forbes recently wrote a report on how a standalone Hulk movie is possible, since Universal's rights to making more movies has expired in 2006. The distributor does still hold the distribution rights and may choose not to release a new Hulk movie, but this isn't the main reason behind the long delay.
Hulk Rights Aren't Keeping Marvel From Making New Hulk Movie https://t.co/3xx4L0dTAw pic.twitter.com/Qkk8OsADZI
— Comics Alliance (@comicsalliance) June 22, 2015
The report indicated that Marvel might be cautious about releasing a new Hulk movie due to the poor box office performance of 2008's 'The Incredible Hulk.' Marvel has also realized that Bruce Banner's alter ego is more effective as a member of an ensemble cast, as evidenced in the successful 'Avengers' movies.
The third reason behind the delay is the issue of budgeting and production. Forbes noted that a Hulk movie wouldn't be a true Hulk movie unless Bruce Banner remained in his green form for extended periods. This means Marvel would need more time and money to work on a solo Hulk movie rather than work on the projects that are already lined up.
The real reason why we aren't getting a solo hulk movie in the MCU explained! https://t.co/pXyUArJaQr pic.twitter.com/BDWCKJMFVx — SuperBroMovies (@SuperBroMovies) June 22, 2015
A standalone Hulk movie is possible in the future, but it may take more time before the project is developed. However, this doesn't mean the big green guy won't appear in other Marvel films. Ruffalo did indicate that he still has four or five more films left in his Marvel contract.
