Hulkamania: Edward Norton Out Of Marvel’s Plans, Joaquin Phoenix In?
The Marvel Comics movie universe looks to make an unprecedented mark on film, trying to bring to the screen what they have brought to the page for decades: a forum that their superheroes could not only coexist in but one where they could interact with each other. In the early days of comics heroes like Superman, Batman and the Flash lived in their own cities and basically their own worlds. Cities like Metropolis or Gotham weren’t on any map and their respective heroes rarely left the city limits.
Enter the godfather of comics Stan Lee and Marvel. Stan’s idea was to set up heroes in the city he knew and loved, New York. Characters like Spider-Man, Tony Stark and Dare Devil would share the same streets and in doing so would eventually run into each other and have shared adventures. In order to capitalize on this prospect Marvel decided to put some of their heaviest hitters together on a team and the call to action was “Avengers, Assemble!” This was in 1963.
Now, in 2010, almost 50 years later Marvel wants to do it again only this time making the leap from the printed page to the silver screen. So far they have set a foundation with “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″ and “The Incredible Hulk” using crossover cameos showing a shared universe and subtle to blatant hints of characters and movies to come. The next two heroes to arrive in a theater near you are “Captain America” and “Thor.” Marvel is not only bringing together characters for their Avengers Initative, but studios and actors as well. “Iron Man” was distributed by Marvel and Paramount, while “The Incredible Hulk” was released by Marvel and Universal. They have signed actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Evans (Cap. America) to multi-picture deals for appearances throughout different movies to show that the characters live and breathe in the same world unlike Sony’s “Spider-Man” or Fox’s “X-Men,” both of which are Marvel properties but live in their own confined worlds.
As The Avengers come closer and closer to assembling there is one person who is no longer on the invite list. While Robert Downy Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) will reprise their roles from previous movies Edward Norton (Bruce Banner/Hulk) has reportedly not been asked back to join the party.
This doesn’t really come as a surprise to some. During post production on “The Incredible Hulk,” Norton and Marvel had a public disagreement over the final edit of the film. Norton wanted a more meditative approach to the relationship between man and monster between Banner and the Hulk, with a running time of 135 minutes. Marvel wanted more “Hulk Smash!” action and a condensed running time of two hours. After the dispute had gone public, both sides tried spin control saying that the dispute had been blown out of proportion by the media, but it left people wondering what the future of Norton and the green giant would be.
The dispute also added fuel to the rumors that Norton can be hard to work with but recently it seemed like that may all be water under the bridge. Drew McWeeny of Hitfix sat down with Norton at SXSW and claims Norton was more than excited to return to the Marvel universe and the roll of Bruce Banner. It’s been circling around the net that Norton has even had talks with “Avengers” director Joss Whedon, but that seems to have been a futile exercise.
Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige released a statement from the London set of “Captain America” that they would not bring Norton back, and would look for a replacement. The reason being none other than what the rumors had been all along: Norton was difficult to work with, Marvel felt that he would not be a team player with the other actors and wants to look for someone who will be:
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’s agent, Brian Swordstrom, fired off a response through HitFix, pointing the finger of blame right back at Marvel:
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.
With Marvel’s move being very recent there are no names out there yet for who might fill the Hulk’s shoes (CHUD’s Devin Faraci claims inside sources are saying Joaquin Phoenix is in talks), but it does spark the question of is this a good move on Marvel’s part. For some, it is a reminder of what happened with the Batman franchise before Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale. In 1989, Michael Keaton donned the cape and cowl; in 1995, Val Kilmer; and then in 1997; George Clooney. Within an eight-year span the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman was held by three different men. Now with the Hulk, you had Eric Bana in 2003, Edward Norton in 2008 and a big question mark for the character in 2012. Will the loss of Norton and the addition of someone new spell the same kind of trouble that many claim was a major factor in Batman being shelved for eight years or will it be just another problem that the Avengers will overcome?
One thing we can be sure of though is that Kermit the Frog was right, it ain’t easy being green.
