by mr.negativity » Tue May 01, 2012 7:44 pm
[quote="Edward Davis "]
There have been three iterations of Marvel's Incredible Hulk character onscreen not counting Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno's iconic portraits of the character on TV in the late 1970s. Universal and Ang Lee's 2003 take on the character starring Eric Bana is a fan favorite in some circles, but it was far from successful and in this writer's mind, wasn't at all good. Marvel Studios got the rights back to the character in time for a 2008 version of the film directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Edward Norton and while it features a strong first act and some good character work reportedly written and pushed by the star himself, the picture devolves into a clamorous third act that is a mess of action and nothing more. While this writer hasn't seen the third construction in Joss Whedon's "The Avengers" starring Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and the titular green behemoth, by all accounts the character has seen thumbs up approval from critics and fans alike (read our most recent version of "The Avengers" review here).
Still, when asked recently if a third solo "Hulk" film could be on the horizon, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige pretty much confirmed that plan wasn't in the cards. "Well, no. This was [the character's] other shot, right?," Feige told the Huffington Post in reference to the Hulk In "The Avengers" film. "I mean, this was the third appearance of Hulk and everything that we had and were going for, we put in to Hulk's appearance in 'Avengers.' So, I love that people are saying that and are feeling that way about Hulk, but mission accomplished at this point."
Yet this runs contrary to a more recent interview in Forbes with Paul Gitter, Marvel Entertainment's President of Consumer Products for North America. Evidently the Hulk has been tracking so well in audience popularity thanks to "The Avengers" film Marvel are revising their game plan.
[url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2012/04/30/marvels-five-year-plan-for-the-avengers-to-rescue-the-movies/]Forbes says Marvel executives have been “pleasantly surprised by the phenomenal responseâ€