What comes next for Hulk in the MCU? It’s a question I have been discussing the last couple of weeks in my ‘What This Fan Wants From…’Column. Then this weekend we heard the news that Hulk star Mark Ruffalo was in talks to join the She-Hulk Disney+ Show. That’s stage one of my Hulk master plan moving along nicely. But what else?

Ruffalo was in attendance at C2E2 in Chicago this weekend. After mentioning the talks about She-Hulk, which LRM already covered, Ruffalo then went on to discuss the future of Hulk a little more. The Hulk actor said some things I liked, and some I didn’t, so let’s get to it.

RELATED: How Could You Have She-Hulk Without The Incredible Hulk? Ruffalo In Talks To Make That Happen

Ruffalo was asked if there was ever a thought to showing the character’s transition to Professor Hulk on screen.

“To be totally honest with you, I want to see the movie where Banner and Hulk ultimately have to battle it out and then the Professor is sort of the brainchild of that. Kevin Feige, are you listening? We want Professor Hulk. The only person in the universe that Hulk is afraid of is Banner and I want to see the ultimate showdown between the two of them. And maybe Wolverine.”

Ok, the Wolverine name drop is interesting, I’d certainly love for Ruffalo to still be around when Wolverine arrives. However, I have almost no interest in seeing Wolverine vs Professor Hulk, that’s a little dull to me. Bring back rage Hulk, and I definitely want to see that showdown. So, I have to disagree with Ruffalo that I want a Professor Hulk movie. Unfortunately the way Ruffalo is talking, it make it seems like this is the final evolution of the character.

“A few years ago we sat down and kind of plotted out what the Banner/Hulk/Professor arc would be and we pretty much stuck to it starting with Age of Ultron and then ending with Endgame. It was fun, I’ve been lucky because the arc of Banner and Hulk over all the films has been pretty different. I’ve gotten to play three characters now, I’ve kept it interesting for myself as an ADHD casualty. It’s pretty much exactly how we planned it to be. It’s been a lot of fun to do it, and melding two characters together seemed to be the kind of final instalment of the Banner/Hulk relationship. They made peace with each other.”

And you know what, Professor Hulk made perfect sense for that moment in Endgame. Hulk has to be the one to bring everybody back, and you don’t trust savage Hulk with that task. However, as I have said many times recently, I want Marvel to find a way to rip Banner apart again. I want back to that place where Banner is scared of Hulk, and Hulk is very unpredictable. Professor Hulk is just a far less interesting character, especially to Hulk fans like me.

RELATED – Is Marvel Studios’ Rumored Search For ‘Alison Brie-Type’ She-Hulk A Good Or Bad Idea?

Mark Ruffalo did come up with one other interesting detail. Something I have been saying for what feels like years is how cool it would be to get a Hulk TV show. For those that don’t know, the reason Hulk has never had a solo movie since The Incredible Hulk is a rights issue. Universal still holds some of the rights to making a Hulk movie. That’s why Hulk has only appeared in Avengers or Thor movies so far. However, as Ruffalo notes, a TV show, is certainly doable for Hulk.

“Maybe we make it into a series and we jump through the Universal…Universal owns the rights to Hulk as a standalone movie, so that’s really why we can’t make one. But, we can do a TV show! I’d probably kind of start him on the run again a little bit. I think that really works and in this new digital age, we’re all surveilled, that might be kind of an interesting dimension to how he stays on the run. That’s probably where we’d start — him deciding ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’ but it’s hard now because he’s the professor. He’s hard to hide.”

It is all harder with Professor Hulk, Mark. I think the actor may have just unwittingly hit the nail on the head as to why Hulk needs to change back. A character without any conflict is a less interesting character to explore. So yes, a Hulk TV show, I would love to see that. But let’s see Banner back being hunted again, his good deeds forgotten. Chased by organisations intent on imprisoning his for further study? Hulk would still come across situations where he needed to be a hero, and that presents drama opportunities.

If you want to know what I’d to with She-Hulk, and what I’d like to see from team-up movies in Phase 5 going forward? Feel free to check those links attached for some fanboy hopes, and hopefully an interesting read. In the meantime I guess we just have to wait and see when it comes to Hulk. Hopefully, She-Hulk will be the first step in bringing back a Hulk that can have some more interesting adventures in the MCU. The worst possible solution for me, would be to see Hulk pass the Torch to She-Hulk, then leave the MCU. The MCU hasn’t done enough with Hulk yet, and the Hulk can still do more for the MCU in turn.

What do you think of Mark Ruffalo and his comments or my commentary on them? Leave what you got in the usual spot.

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SOURCE: Mark Ruffalo at C2E2 in Chicago

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