The reason why Edward Norton wasn’t recast as Hulk for the Avengers: “As it turned out, that wasn’t what they wanted”

Directed by Louis Leterrier, The Incredible Hulk was the second movie in the first phase of MCU‘s Infinity series, hitting screens in the summer of 2008.

Edward Norton played the role of Dr. Bruce Banner, who transforms into the emerald superhero whenever he gets angry - a rare genetic disorder caused after being exposed to gamma radiation.

The Hulk on the run in Rio

Banner is living and working as a fugitive in Rio de Janeiro when a production line accident ensures that his cover is blown. It’s been several months since his last transformation into the shirt-busting Hulk but that soon changes after he is hunted down by Thaddeus Ross, a US Army general who has made it a personal crusade to trackj down and capture the Hulk.

The Incredible Hulk was moderately successful at the box office, raking in a total of $265.5 million worldwide, but recouping its budget and making a small profit.

But since then, Norton hasn’t been asked back. Mark Ruffalo took over as Dr. Banner in 2012.

So why was Norton frozen out by MCU in favor of Ruffalo? According to some reports, Norton demanded more control over certain aspects during filming, such as rewriting parts of the script which created problems when the film went into post-production. That resulted in two different cuts of the movie - the theater version and a longer director’s cut which was released on DVD.

Norton’s involvement in production

Leterrier alluded to that himself in an interview with collider.com “We had a meeting - a round table where I go okay we have to find solutions. Edward was like…no. Edward’s very vocal. He won’t say….he’s like “come on man” and he’s not arguing. That’s how Edward is. I’m sure you guys have met him, you know, he’ll be like (making sounds) and the guy walks in and he’s like okay, Edward Norton is arguing about the cut and everything. And he walks out and (sounds of typewriter) they’re arguing.

“I thought it would blow over. I was like…yeah okay. I didn’t care. I was like okay, cool. And then we kept on cutting and cutting and it became bigger and bigger and people were calling me and then Universal were calling “everything’s okay and everything?” and I was like “Edward’s right here next to me. Talk to Edward.”

The director added that some of the scenes that were cut on Norton’s insistence were actually in the official trailer. A frustrating experience that was exaggerated and blown up to be more than it was by the media.

Then again, Norton’s not a guy who likes retreading old ground. He generally avoids sequels, preferring to set himself new challenges. So when the franchise entered phase two, MCU brought in Ruffalo to play Banner.

Marvel explained at the time: “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”.

Norton has no hard feelings and insists that working with Leterrier was a positive experience which he looks back on fondly: “I experimented and experienced what I wanted to. I really, really enjoyed it,” he told NPR in October 2014. “I think you can sort of do anything once, but if you do it too many times, it can become a suit that’s hard to take off.”

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