Don't Expect a Standalone Hulk Movie Anytime Soon: It's Unlikely for a Number of Reasons

Summary

• The Hulk is the only superhero that doesn't have a standalone production within Disney's MCU.
• Hulk is an extremely pricey character to create due to the amount of CGI used in the process.
• Disney may not legally distribute movies about the character.

Right now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a mess with many problems. And perhaps the biggest is the narrative complexity that comes from trying to branch out the franchise that is supposed to be a single, comprehensive story.

In other words, it's almost impossible to enjoy a Marvel movie these days if you haven't seen at least one previous movie or TV show, because you won't understand what's going on. For this reason, many fans are nostalgic for the good old days when the franchise was just a collection of movies about fan-favorite superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.

But there's one thing we have to thank the MCU for. Without the sprawling franchise, we wouldn't have Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk at all, as a standalone movie about the character remains a tall order for the studio and a pipe dream for the fans. And there are a number of reasons for that.

The Most Expensive Marvel Superhero

It's no secret that Marvel movies make extensive use of CGI. In fact, most of the filming takes place in front of a green screen, where all the cool stuff is added in post-production. But in the case of Hulk, the visual effects are taken a step further.

Unlike the rest of Marvel's fan-favorite superheroes, Hulk doesn't have special armor and other props. He himself is a giant prop created with the help of CGI, which shouldn't come as a surprise since humans unfortunately don't have the ability to grow gigantic and green yet. For this reason, any scene involving Hulk in, say, fight mode, is very expensive to produce.

'I'd love to do a standalone Hulk, I just don't think that's ever going to happen,' Mark Ruffalo who has played the superhero since The Avengers recently shed light on the future of the character. 'I priced myself out!'

According to the actor, the cost of the CGI used to create the Hulk is enormous, despite advances in technology. As a result, the price tag for a standalone Hulk movie would be unfathomable. And the cost is the main reason why the character's appearances in the MCU are so sporadic.

Copyright Infringement

Perhaps more importantly, a Hulk movie is impossible because Disney, which bought Marvel in the late 2000s, doesn't own the rights to the superhero. The Hulk is still owned by Universal Pictures, which distributed 2008's The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, and holds sway over standalone films about the character. So even if Disney were to make such a movie, it couldn't legally distribute it without a massive lawsuit.

So, since it's better to be safe than sorry, don't look forward to a Hulk movie anytime soon.

Source: GQ.