Although his previous solo movies weren't great critical or financial successes, Hulk has become a fan favorite since he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mark Ruffalo has taken on the role of the Green Goliath, so why haven't we heard a word about a solo Hulk flick set in the MCU? After all, Kevin Feige mentioned a while back that discussions had taken place.
Mark Ruffalo provided an answer during an interview with Variety at the D23 Expo. He reminded us once again that Universal owns the rights to Hulk, not Marvel. So we’ll enjoy seeing the Jade Giant in the company of the Avengers, but we won't see him in a standalone MCU movie.
“A standalone Hulk movie will never happen.” – @MarkRuffalo #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/4QrZcoHm6Q
"” Variety (@Variety) July 15, 2017
I just want to make one thing perfectly clear today. A standalone Hulk movie will never happen, because Universal has the rights to the standalone Hulk movie. For some reason, they don't know how to play well with Marvel, and they don't want to make money.
Of course, we might point out that Marvel did the impossible by obtaining Sony’s Spider-Man. They’ve already made two movies, and have three more in the planning stages. But it appears that the deal for Spider-Man was one of a kind and won’t be repeated, as Amy Pascal once said.
This is probably why the Planet Hulk story line is being incorporated into Thor: Ragnarok. No matter how popular the character is, Universal won't settle with Marvel. It could be that the studio believes it has a shot with its Monsterverse, and doesn't want any extra competition.
