As we saw in Avengers: Infinity War, the Incredible Hulk took a back seat to his alter-ego Bruce Banner in the latest chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the Green Goliath refusing to come out following his early crushing defeat at the hands of Thanos.
Many fans theorised that Hulk’s refusal to make an appearance was down to him being scared, or embarrassed about being bested by the Mad Titan. However, speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, co-director Joe Russo has offered an alternate explanation:
“I think people have interpreted it as Hulk’s scared. I mean, certainly, that’s not a — I don’t know that the Hulk is ever… he’s had his ass kicked before, and he loves a good fight. But I think that it’s really reflective of the journey from Ragnarok. Is that these two characters are constantly in conflict with each other over control. And I think that if the Hulk were to say why, it’d be that Banner only wants Hulk for fighting. I think he’s had enough of saving Banner’s ass.”
The Russos have previously said that it was a deliberate decision not to have the Hulk appear in order to play with fan expectations (the trailer shot of the Hulk in Wakanda was a deliberate misdirect), stating that: “We have to be careful with the character of Banner. Because if every time he’s in trouble Hulk saves him, Hulk becomes the hero and he becomes whiny. We wanted to force Banner to be the hero.”
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An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Paul Bettany (Vision), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Sean Gunn (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Terry Notary (Cull Obsidian), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Ebony Maw), Carrie Coon (Proxima Midnight), Michael James Shaw (Corvus Glaive) and Peter Dinklage (Eitri).
