Mark Ruffalo is one of the few major actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have not gotten a solo movie, but he's open to changing that. In an extensive interview with Variety, Ruffalo indicated that he's interested in finally doing a standalone Hulk film based on the character.
"There's an idea that I think could be really interesting," says Ruffalo, who previously ruled out a solo project. "We've never really followed him into his life. He's always kind of off on the side. He's like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Avengers. It'd be interesting to fill in all the blanks about what happened to him between all these movies."
Back at Disney's D23 Expo in 2017, Ruffalo remarked that a standalone Hulk movie "will never happen." He clarified that Universal has the rights, "and for some reason, they don't know how to play well with Marvel. And they don't want to make money."
Universal has owned the distribution rights to the character since 2003's Hulk movie, which starred Eric Bana. While the studio can refuse to let a solo Hulk film enter production at Marvel Studios, there's a stipulation with the rights that has allowed the character to show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With a She-Hulk series on the way to Disney+, however, it's unclear if Universal is still in control of the rights. Just last month Ruffalo said he was in "preliminary talks" to reprise his role on the show, but with all the projects he's got underway, there's no telling if he'll get green and mean again anytime soon.
Taika Waititi, who directed Ruffalo in Thor: Ragnarok, added that he puts "a lot of prep" into his take on Bruce Banner. "I was surprised," Waititi said of the actor. "I thought, ‘Oh well, he’s playing Banner and the Hulk—how much work goes into being a screaming monster?’ But he took it seriously and wanted to explore the duality of the character."
