Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner may not be getting his own standalone MCU film any time soon but the actor has promised Hulk fans are in for a treat as his character develops over his next 3 Marvel movie outings.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies while promoting ‘Spotlight’, the superb real-life drama which he’s been nominated as Best Supporting Actor for at the Oscars, Ruffalo told us he’s got a big part to play in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and beyond.

“I’d love to do a Hulk movie, but that’s beyond my control,” he said. “It’s controlled by Universal. Marvel doesn’t even hold the rights to it. So, it’s not on the horizon. And I don’t know if it will be.”



“But we’ve worked a really interesting arc into ‘Thor 3′, ‘Avengers 3′ and ‘4′ for Banner that I think will – when it’s all added up – will feel like a Hulk movie, a standalone movie.”

Ruffalo’s incarnation of the Hulk was introduced in 2012′s ‘The Avengers’. It was the character’s first appearance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Ed Norton’s take in 2008′s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ which, crucially, was released by Universal before Disney bought up Marvel Studios.

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The solo rights for a Hulk film remain with Universal - for now - but that doesn’t stop him from appearing in other Marvel films like 2017′s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (which is being talked up as a “road movie” of sorts) and the two-part ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ coming 2018 and 2019.

We also asked The Ruff about his time on ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ which, as it transpired, was the last Marvel movie he’d get to make with Joss Whedon, the man who hired him to play Hulk in the first place.

Did he know it was Joss’ last outing in that world?

“Yeah. He basically told me it was and I was like ‘goddamn it, you dragged me in to this world and now you’re abandoning me here!’ But they’re doing fine. Joss’ll do fine. I just miss him, and I will miss him. He cracked this character, he obviously cracked the Avengers which was nearly impossible. It was a miracle and he did it so beautifully.

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“I think the Russo brothers are great and I think they’re well positioned to take it on, and I’m happy to be doing it with them, but I’m friends with Joss. He had a hard time making the first one and he had a hard time making this one. I think it’s partially the nature of that beast.”

As for preparation for ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, which is planning to shoot in Australia soon, Ruffalo told us he’s under no pressure to get super-hench like Chris Hemsworth, but that he’s really excited to work with the director.

“Taika Waititi’s coming in and I love him. That’s a surprise and it fits part of this Marvel doing the unexpected, casting the unexpected, and now bringing in the unexpected for writer and director. I’m really interested in where that’s going.

“They’re writing the script now. I am thinking about it, I’m doing script meetings and stuff so we’re starting to prep it.”



Come back tomorrow for more from our exclusive interview with Mark Ruffalo tomorrow, including his thoughts on the ongoing Oscars diversity row…

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‘Spotlight’ is in UK cinemas on Friday, 29 January. Watch a trailer below.



Image credits: eOne/Disney