After receiving a rather savage beatdown from Thanos in the opening sequence to Avengers: Infinity War, the Incredible Hulk turned into the Incredible Sulk, refusing to re-emerge for the remainder of the film, despite numerous attempts by Bruce Banner to call on his big green alter-ego.
This has led some fans to speculate that the Green Goliath may have been scared of the prospect of a rematch, or embarrassed about his defeat at the hands of the Mad Titan. However, on the director’s commentary for the movie, co-director Joe Russo has revealed that Hulk isn’t necessary scared of Thanos, but rather that he’s tired of having to solve Bruce Banner’s problems.
“This was an interesting journey we went on with Banner, trying to decide how we move him forward in the Marvel Universe. What makes him unique as a character is that there is a host body that is being fought over by two distinct personalities who hate each other. And both want control of the host body. So we thought an interesting direction to take him in is what if Banner, who typically uses the Hulk to solve crisis situations, what if the Hulk were no longer interested in solving those problems for Banner? So that the relationship is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. That’s what’s going on here. People have speculated whether there was some fear on the Hulk’s part about having to face Thanos again. But I think ultimately what it is, is that he’s tired of playing hero to Bruce Banner.”
The Hulk will presumably make his grand return in Avengers 4, but with Thanos now holding all of the Infinity Stones, it’s difficult to see a different outcome if and when Hulk vs. Thanos II takes place.
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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).
