Once upon a time, before the epicness of Thor: Love And Thunder and before the delightful Ant-Man trilogy, there existed a movie called The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier. Unfortunately, this film was often overlooked and deemed forgettable in the vast Marvel Cinematic Universe. To make matters more perplexing, the main character was recast in The Avengers, raising doubts about its true place in the canon. Nevertheless, Leterrier recently divulged some intriguing details about a potential sequel to The Incredible Hulk.
In a conversation with ComicBook, Leterrier revealed that there were extensive discussions surrounding an Incredible Hulk 2 that would have introduced a variety of different Hulks. Imagine a whole crew of Hulks with different colors, each possessing their own unique characteristics. Grey Hulk, for instance, could refer to the original incarnation of the character before the iconic green hue became the norm. Alternatively, it might mean a more intelligent portrayal of the Hulk, reminiscent of a hat-wearing mobster. The concept of Red Hulks added further complexity to the mix. One of the most famous Red Hulks would be General “Thunderbolt” Ross, who developed an intense animosity towards the Hulk. Another noteworthy individual, adorned with a mustache, also transformed into a Red Hulk. Unlike Bruce Banner’s regular Hulk form, both Grey and Red Hulks maintained their intelligence after undergoing their incredible transformations. Undoubtedly, this would have made them formidable adversaries, potentially surpassing Bruce Banner’s alter ego in terms of power and intellect. Interestingly, there have even been whispers of Harrison Ford portraying a Red Hulk in the upcoming film, Captain America: Brave New World, which adds an exciting twist to the story.
However, as Leterrier laments over what might have been, we must acknowledge that an Incredible Hulk sequel would have faced tremendous challenges. At the time, Marvel Studios was still taking ambitious leaps with its budding cinematic universe, and even though The Incredible Hulk had a decent following, Universal held the rights to distribute solo Hulk movies. Consequently, when Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009, the window of opportunity for an Incredible Hulk 2 became quite narrow. If they wanted to release it before their agreement with Universal came into effect, they would have had to expedite production. Thus, while the chance to witness the kaleidoscope of Hulk colors slipped through our fingers, it appears that our desires will soon be fulfilled after all.
In conclusion, the tale of The Incredible Hulk sequel shines a light on what could have been: a parade of diverse Hulks with distinct attributes. However, the intricate web of rights and the rapidly evolving Marvel landscape prevented this vision from becoming a reality. Nevertheless, with new films on the horizon, including the intriguing possibility of a Red Hulk portrayed by Harrison Ford, fans can still revel in the excitement of seeing these alternative versions of everyone’s favorite green hero.