Rumors of a Planet Hulk movie have been circulating pretty much since the credits rolled on the first Avengers -- and rightfully so. Not only was Mark Ruffalo's jade giant arguably the standout character of that movie, but Planet Hulk is also one of the best Hulk storylines out there. More recently, speculation of a "Hulk in space" movie has surfaced, leading some fans to conclude that Planet Hulk is imminent. The question is, would Marvel really make a whole movie featuring just Hulk, sans Bruce Banner (and, by extension, Ruffalo)?

Earlier this week, IGN's own Roth Cornet spoke with Marvel head Kevin Feige in advance of the release of Guardians of the Galaxy and mentioned the persistence of the rumors, asking if it might be a challenge to adapt that storyline -- if the studio ever did -- given that many fans are responding to Ruffalo's Banner, who would not be utilized in a Planet Hulk film. "Well that's why there are no plans for Planet Hulk anytime soon," Feige laughed.

"I think what's cool about the Planet Hulk story is it's all Hulk," he said. "He's a gladiator, he's fighting all these creatures on another world. Yes, some of those creatures show up in [Guardians of the Galaxy], which makes people think, 'Oh, maybe it could exist.' And maybe it could exist, someday. I don't think that's the first place we would go though for the very reason that you stated, which is, if we were ever able to do a standalone Hulk movie, 60 percent of the fun would be seeing Mark Ruffalo leading a Marvel movie -- and that's what we would do if we ever went down that road."It's worth noting that, while Feige said there were no immediate plans to tackle Planet Hulk, he did not entirely rule out the idea of "Hulk in space" or a Banner/Hulk-led film, meaning that may still be on the table in some fashion.Feige continued, "After the first Avengers, Iron Man had his own movie, Thor had his own movie, Captain America had his own movie, and Widow and Fury were in The Winter Soldier. So it was really about, frankly, saving somebody so that the only place you could get Hulk between Avengers movies is the next Avengers movie, so [director Joss Whedon] could continue to play with that in [ The Avengers: Age of Ultron ]. Where we go after that, we'll see."

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.Roth Cornet is an Entertainment Editor for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @RothCornet and IGN at Roth-IGN