The Incredible Hulk (film)
The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner. It is the second film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film establishes a new backstory where Banner becomes the Hulk as an unwitting pawn in a military scheme to reinvigorate the supersoldier program through gamma radiation. On the run, he attempts to cure himself of the Hulk before he is captured by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt), but his worst fears are realized when power-hungry soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) becomes a similar but more bestial creature. Liv Tyler also stars as Betty Ross, Banner's love interest and General Ross' daughter.
Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to the character after the mixed reception to the 2003 film Hulk, and writer Zak Penn began work on a loose sequel that would be much closer to the comics and the television series. Norton rewrote the script after he signed on to star, clarifying the film's new backstory. Leterrier redesigned Roth's character, called the Abomination in the comics, from the comics' reptilian humanoid into a monster with bony protrusions. Filming mostly took place in Toronto, Ontario in 2007, where the production attempted to be environmentally friendly.
The film was No. 1 at its box office release—out grossing its predecessor—grossing over $260 million in worldwide, as well as No. 1 for the DVD release. Norton was initially intended to again portray Bruce Banner in The Avengers and other future installments featuring the character, but after talks broke down, he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, who has signed on to reprise the role in all future sequels. However, despite the positive reception towards Ruffalo's portrayal of the character in The Avengers, Marvel chose to put off a possible sequel until at least 2016.
Read more about The Incredible Hulk (film): Plot, Cast, Possible Sequel, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words incredible and/or hulk:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make. Incredible as it may seem, strange beings who landed in New Jersey tonight are the vanguard of an invading army from Mars.”
—Orson Welles (1915–1984)
“To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be forgiven, if to such an one the solitary old hulk at Portsmouth, Nelson’s Victory, seems to float there, not alone as the decaying monument of a fame incorruptible, but also as a poetic approach, softened by its picturesqueness, to the Monitors and yet mightier hulls of the European ironclads.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)