Hulk Not Need Puny Norton!

UPDATED: Hulk Not Need Puny Norton!
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July 10th, 2010
Author George Marston

"Hulk sad."

Film rumor website HitFix has confirmed, in a statement from Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige that Ed Norton will not be taking part in the upcoming “Avengers” film, due for release in 2012. According to the statement, the decision was not based on Norton’s salary, but rather “rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.”

Norton, who portrayed the jade giant as well as his human alter-ego Bruce Banner in 2008’s “Incredible Hulk” was involved in an infamous spat with Marvel Studios and director Louis Leterrier over the final cut and direction of the film that nearly caused the production to be scrapped. It is little surprise that Marvel chose to move in this direction due to their artistic differences, and Feige also assures that they will “announce a name actor who embodies these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

In more positive news, Feige’s statement confirms that all other principle cast members, including Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth are all still on board with the production. Black Widow was not yet confirmed as appearing in the film, though rumored, and the same can be said about The Hulk.

So, who should take Norton’s place? Feige’s announcement specifically states that they will be hiring a “name actor,” so unknowns are off the table. Speculators, start your engines!

Read Feige’s full statement, as well as a response released by Norton’s agent which seemingly confirms Joss Whedon as The Avengers Director, after the break.

Feige’s statement:

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

Brain Swardstom, Ed Norton’s Agent’s Response:

“This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of the convention. When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea, Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with Joss Whedon to discuss the project. Edward and Joss had a very good meeting (confirmed by Feige to me) at which Edward said he was enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast. Marvel subsequently made him a financial offer to be in the film and both sides started negotiating in good faith. This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part. This seemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings.

We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige’s mean spirited, accusatory comments. Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his. Feige’s statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory. Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel’s fans.

Brian Swardstrom
WME”

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 at 9:56 pm and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
40 Responses to “UPDATED: Hulk Not Need Puny Norton!”

1. Andrew Wickliffe Says:
July 10th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

Do you have absolutely no journalistic integrity?

Whatever the dispute during Hulk, the production was never going to be scrapped. You made that up for effect.

Do you not have an editor or do you just like making up your stories?
2. Ravager Says:
July 11th, 2010 at 12:10 am

=(
3. George Marston Says:
July 11th, 2010 at 1:41 am

Well, if you recall, they discussed not releasing the film due to a possible legal dispute between Norton, Leterrier, and Marvel Studios over claims that Norton made that his contract gave him certain rights over the final cut of the film. The dispute was resolved publicly, and was apparently not as big a deal as was reported in the press; however there was a point where a possible lawsuit halted progress on the film, nearly leading to it being shelved, which is why there was very little advertising in the months leading to the release, and very few interviews or press done by Norton. Sorry I didn’t make that clear.
4. Shaun Says:
July 11th, 2010 at 6:12 am

Whatever the problems were, Norton seemed to get over that and, of late, had expressed interest in returning to play Banner. I think not bringing him back is big mistake.

I know fan reaction to the movie was mixed, but the overall critical reaction to The Incredible Hulk was positive. Given that it was released in a crowded summer between Iron Man and The Dark Knight, AND given that it had to fight an uphill battle since Ang Lee’s Hulk was still fairly recent and had left a bad taste with many (hell, some people probably thought it was sequel) I thought it did pretty well. It certainly did well on DVD.

The film re-established the Hulk as part of the larger Marvel movie universe, and Norton is Bruce Banner. I don’t like seeing recasting, and we already got that with Iron Man/Rhodey situation. I have enough doubts about this Avengers project already (Both Thor and Captain America had better be really good, and better than IM2 turned out)… Too many missteps could sink this project.
5. Shaun Says:
July 11th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

Just to clarify my hasty writing… I meant to say a fair number of people probably though The Incredible Hulk (the Norton/Leterrier film) was a sequel to Ang Lee’s Hulk. I know at least at two people who asked me about that at the time.

Hell, I can remember some reviews for Batman Begins saying it was a prequel to the earlier Burton and Schumacher movies. People are easily confused.
6. Michelle Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 3:35 am

Well I’m shocked that Norton won’t be the hulk I liked that movie alot he was really fit for it i just hope they pick an actor that fits the role not just someone that looks good
7. marinerm Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 7:06 am

Norton and/or agent taking the vague statement by Feige sounds like a guilty conscience to me.

I took Feige’s statement to mean they needed someone they could wrap up for multiple movies, not someone that would only agree to do one at a time. Norton’s (his agent?) has been clear that they would handle each film one at a time as they came.

Marvel has shown in all their signings that they are looking to lock up their actors for these movies for three, four, seven movies so there is no issue down the road. I think Norton just got Terrence Howard-ed is all. I cannot blame Marvel for wanting to start fresh with someone they can sign on for four movies featuring the Hulk rather than on a sour negotiation note with an actor who will not agree to lock in for more than one movie at a time.

Does this not sound just like what happened with Terrance Howard to anyone else? Negotiating and then, poof, we’re going somewhere else.
8. U_no Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 7:18 am

This was probably a case of Norton wanting to have a deeper hand in the creative direction of the film as he did with the Hulk.
9. U_no Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 7:20 am

Oh and it shouldn’t be too hard to replace Norton. While he was a respectable Banner (better than the last guy), the Hulk is the main attraction here.
10. BookWyrm Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 7:27 am

I have to point out that Norton played BRUCE BANNER, *not* The Hulk. The Hulk was all CGI.
11. Brandon Yates Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 8:04 am

Awesome, Joss Whedon is directing. I was surprised by the unprofessionally passive aggressive tone Kevin took on in his statement. I’m glad Norton’s agency addressed it. Marvel Studios’ loss.
12. hailex Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 8:24 am

First LeBron, now Ed. Lots of public bashing going on.
13. George M. Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 8:36 am

While the Hulk was CGI, Norton did provide motion capture for his facial expressions and mannerisms.
14. Eric Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:06 am

I have no problem with replacing Norton for this film. Whether or not “Incredible Hulk” was ever really in danger of being released due to his unhappiness with it, it was still public knowledge that there was quite a bit of behind-the-scenes turmoil involved with the film. If “The Avengers” is EVER going to get made — and part of me is still dubious about that, frankly — there’s no way that kind of stuff can go on, especially not with Norton. There are so many more egos involved in this movie, and frankly many more major stars who will probably have bigger demands that need to be met.

I also wasn’t that impressed with Norton’s performance in the “Hulk” film. On paper it looked like a brilliant casting choice, but on screen he failed to make much of an impression. That’s how I feel about that movie in general: nothing about it stands out, nothing about it feels interesting or powerful. I don’t know why people can’t make a decent Hulk or Punisher movie. These should be two of the easiest comic-book properties to adapt.

Thrilled to hear about Black Widow, however. I was really annoyed with Scarlett took over that role from Emily Blunt, but she was great in “Iron Man 2″ and I loved her (too brief) action sequences. I suspect she’ll replace Wasp in the Avengers line-up (makes sense). If that’s the case, this movie can’t come soon enough.
15. Mr Nobody Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:12 am

I’ll cast my vote for Jeremy Davies to replace Norton as Bruce Banner. He truly seems to be made for the part. Not a big fan of re-casting unless it’s a reboot. Can we stop saying re-boot, by the way? Always makes me think of the crappy 15 year old computer from my last job that crashed constantly. I like do-over. What happened to do-over?

Anyways, I could take or leave Joss Wheadon as the director. As I’m neither a fan of nor anti-Buffy, his being named is ‘eh’ for me. The one thing, and this could just be my interpretation, is at the end of Incredible Hulk it appears Bruce was gaining/gained control his transformations. I loved that ending and the idea of Bruce/Hulk control, that I hope they continue it whenever Hulk shows up next. I picture Davies in his signature soft drawl saying “Hiya, Thor…” then BAM! Hulks out and bust him in the jaw.
16. Matt Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:12 am

I can’t stress enough how much I hate it when films recast major characters. Alright, so The Hulk (2003) wasn’t very good, but The Incredible Hulk (2008) made up for it (in my opinion). The Hulk (2003) was boring and literally put me to sleep on several occasions, but the best thing Marvel can do to fill the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers is to rehire Eric Bana…not because he was that good, but because it would make sense! I really don’t want to see three different faces on the same character in the span of ten years…this is one of the reasons why the Batman franchise went from pretty good to flat our horrible! Get with the program Marvel!!!
17. Nat McTeagle Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:37 am

Matt, understand this: ONLY INTERNET COMICS NERDS CARE ABOUT CONTINUITY. Your reasoning that “the best thing Marvel can do to fill the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers is to rehire Eric Bana…not because he was that good, but because it would make sense!” makes NO sense whatsoever.
18. Jer Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:53 am

I’m calling it now. Eric Bana.
19. mercwiththemouth Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 11:18 am

It sounds like Marvel should have worked with Norton on this, and instead, they assumed he wouldn’t be willing to talk about their concerns, dumping him without discussing it.

That’s pretty disappointing. Norton was an excellent Banner.
20. JD Miller Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 11:29 am

There’s already a fan campaign started to get Chris Hardwick (Web Soup, the Nerdist podcast) cast as Bruce Banner. Fingers crossed he lands it.
21. RD Slocumb Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 11:44 am

Wow. I knew there were problems but really? You cut ties with the only “real” actor in the cast? Downey is okay but the whole comeback kid story has lost it’s heat, Jackson is a one trick pony who’s acting ability involves yelling his lines, and scarlett..well let’s be honest, she’s just there for eye candy. It remains to be seen about cap and thor.

I sure hope they can get someone decent to play Banner. I understand that the Hulk is the main attraction of the character and CGI, but really, you know Banner is going to be on screen for most of the movie just like in the other two Hulks.
22. Victor Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:07 pm

Considering Banner’s been portrayed recently as this mastermind who thinks he’s smarte than almost anyone (except maybe Reed Richards) I vote for Hugh Laurie.

Granted his Gregory House character is a synic, but if Laurie tones down that aspect and pumps up the I’m smarter than everyone in this room ego. I think he could do a decent Banner.
23. Victor Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

Hmm, age could be a problem though. Think I’m gonna have to rethink this a bit.
24. Erick Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:26 pm

This sucks, Norton did a good job. He brought an emotional drained banner to the scrren, which I always though Bill Bixby pulled off in the tv series. Norton should be in Avengers, NUFF SAID.
25. Scott Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 1:16 pm

Norton did a great job – sorry to hear this. If they can’t bring him back, I’d like to see Eric Bana return – he wasn’t bad, and his stature as an actor has grown since then.
26. Trev Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

I didn’t mind the first Hulk movie minus Nick Nolte as Absorbing man/father

Eric Bana good

Sam Elliot as Ross..good

Jenn Connely as Betty..good.

Josh Lucas in a more villainous role good

Pace….bad

Story over all…not so good….but that doesnt mean these bright spots are non existent.
27. Wayne Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

The rumor is Joaquin Phoenix was offered the Banner role. Intriguing. My vote goes for Michael Emerson (Ben Linus from Lost). The only downside is he’s probably 10 years too old for the role, but he’s a brilliant actor. Banner is dorky a scientist with a clever, dark side to him. Emerson showed he can do that in Lost.
28. the chef Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

I can’t believe I must have missed the anouncement that Joss was directing this.
I really like Norton, but I didn’t buy either him or Bana as a super intelligent scientist nerd anyway so i have no problem seeing him replaced. Neither actor ingrained themselves in the public consciousness enough that they would be missed (unlike Robert Downey or, to a lesser extent Samuel L ) I can’t imagine the Hulk (Banner especially) getting enough character developement in an Avengers movie to require an a-list (highly paid) actor.
29. John Hahn Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 3:23 pm

My vote would also be to go back to Eric Bana, as well. To recast one of the principle actors 3x in such a short period is annoying…but more importantly, distracting. (And it’s not just the comic geeks that care about continuity.) I didn’t like the 1st “Hulk” movie, but Eric Bana did a good job.
30. Tyson Hinton Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 3:52 pm

I really do wish that they could somehow work things out so that Norton could come back. I really loved his role in The Incredible Hulk. If and they probably will recast the role just think of it as the same character with a different artist. I don’t see why a lot of these films couldn’t just keep going on with different leads kind of like the James Bond films. The characters really don’t change that much in the comics for the most part and stories don’t always have to be read in order.
31. Irvin K Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

Two words: JEFF GOLDBLUM
32. Bill Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 5:40 pm

This is an unfortunate turn of events IMO. Norton is a fine actor, and I was really looking forward to seeing him reprise his roll in the Avengers movie. But since that’s not going to happen I could live with Bana. He brought a certain quality to the roll of Bruce Banner that I thought was interesting. I especially liked him in the scene where Talbot was slapping him around in his house and he Hulks out on him. Plus Bana sounds like someone from Boston saying Banner, so it makes a weird kind of sense.
33. Bill Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 5:41 pm

oooooo, I like that Jeff Goldblum idea. Even at his age, I think he could pull it off.
34. U_no Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 6:49 pm

I still don’t think Bruce Banner would have a large enough part in an Avengers movie to require somebody like Norton in the role.

Think about it. You’ve got Cap, Thor AND Iron Man as definite team members. I can’t really imagine any reason why Banner would need to have a large role in an Avengers film, when really the film will most likely be about big action over heavy character development. Big action = Hulk.
35. MaxP Says:
July 13th, 2010 at 2:11 am

Absolutley lame. Even at this early stage the cast is already changing. They couldn’t even keep it together to the first Avengers film. Unbelievable.

For a project like this where you’re trying to establish a shared Universe and cohesive continiuity, nothing ruins it more than replacing the lead actors between films.

They should just forget the Hulk now for the Avengers film. This is really dissapointing, and now made me really sceptical about the Avengers.

http://myfxadvice.com trading platform
36. Jeff Niffen Says:
July 13th, 2010 at 8:45 am

Okay, this just hit me. I think they already have in mind who to play Bruce Banner. The clues were all there and I didn’t pay attention to them until just now. They keep talking about getting someone is a “name actor” and embodies the ensemble spirit that they are looking for. Think of who recently tried out for the role of Captain America (but didn’t get it) and is also on a certain ensemble sitcom on NBC. I’ll bet they’ve already got John Krasinski (Jim from “The Office) in mind to play the part. Just a theory I’m working with.
37. Androoo Says:
July 13th, 2010 at 12:18 pm

So now we’ll have three different actors to have played Bruce Banner in the movies in recent years. And both Eric Bana and Edward Norton were great actors (though I did prefer Norton). Marvel’s sort of shooting itself in the foot if it’s trying to go for a shared universe but keeps replacing actors like this. They should’ve been happy they even got Norton in the first place. He’s a great actor, right up there with Robert Downey, Jr. They need SOME star power to hold this franchise up.
38. gabriel Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 7:58 am

Sucks that Ed Norton won’t be returning but Eric Bana is a good bet, his Banner was pretty good, its the Hulk in his movie that distracted from the story (for what it was), too cartoony IMO. The new CGI is way better (as was the story) so Eric’s Banner should fit well. I’d rather this than a third actor… as an aside, Don Cheadle was ok in Iron Man 2 but I would have preferred Terrance Howard… Marvel needs to stop replacing actors like this, give the audience some credit…
39. john Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 8:56 am

i personally like the john krasinski idea but seeing as how they are making these movies alot like the ultimates line why not steve buscemi
40. Jeff Niffen Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 12:54 pm

I’m guessing Buscemi is too old for them to cast, and since this will likely be a franchise, they’ll want someone with more lasting power like Krasinski (again, just my theory as nothing has been announced).

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ONLY INTERNET COMICS NERDS CARE ABOUT CONTINUITY or trying to often wrongly cast a movie.Awesome, Joss Whedon is directing. Asesomely crap.Josh Whedon only understands wastatime soap opera crap,that goes no place in the end.So party on Brandon Yates.party on garth.Wow.It went dark,when I closed my eyes(use Keanue Reeves voice}