"We wanted to create a Hulk that had never been done before," reveals director
Joss Whedon.
"In the comics, Bruce Banner and The Hulk didn’t look the same. On the television show they were different actors and they’ve always have been an actor and a CGI creature in the films, but now with the advancements of motion capture technology, we wanted Mark Ruffalo to play both sides of the character. Very early on we decided to build The Hulk’s face off of Mark’s [Ruffalo], not just in terms of what he was going to do movement-wise in playing the character, but also the actual physicality of it, including the bone structure and contours of the eyes and mouth. We really wanted to bridge the gap between the characters so that when he turns into The Hulk, you go, ‘Oh my God, that’s Bruce Banner! Only he is big and green and very angry!’"
"There are a million things we can build off of from Mark, but at the end of the day, the CGI Hulk needed to feel like flesh and blood, but at the same time had to express everything more dramatically than a human being is going to. So there have been times when ILM is building off Mark’s performance and I see it and say, ‘We need to take this further; his mouth needs to be opened wider, his head needs to snap quicker.’ All these things had to be augmented in order for them to read as pure Hulk, but they had to come from the basis of reality."
One aspect in which this version of The Hulk will differ from past incarnations is made clear by actor
Mark Ruffalo.
"In a lot of the other versions of the character, The Hulk grew in size drastically, but in ‘The Avengers’ he is always going to be about eight and a half feet tall," says the actor.
"He gets stronger as he gets angrier, but he doesn’t really grow much taller. When I found out there was a whole new arena of technology that would allow an actor to play what has always been a CGI character, I thought it could be something cool to try my hand at. It’s a game changer for The Hulk because it’s hard to capture real anger in a CGI character. Anger is something that’s deep and primordial. There are so many subtleties and variations to it, so this idea of bringing a darker, more humanistic Hulk was really exciting and compelling."
"There are many different steps in creating this version of The Hulk," the actor continues.
"It was interesting to me how relatable it is to theater, which is the oldest form of acting. As a theater actor you walk onto a black box and there is nothing to live off of, so you really have to rely on your imagination and you have to put things out there that aren’t there. Theater was my training as an actor and when they put me in this tiny little pod with thousands of cameras and lights all around and I could only move my head, I was able to use my imagination to put myself in the circumstance of fighting Thor or any other being."
"Every movement you make you see The Hulk making the same movement in the monitor, so the image starts to tell you how the character stands and behaves," says Ruffalo on the process of injecting life into the computer generated creation.
"You also see that the body can only move certain ways, so you’re creating the character based on the physical presence that’s in front of you, which was really exciting and challenging. I spent several days there and we went through fights, like Hulk against Thor, and I would simulate the fight with one of ILM’s animators for three hours. They took all the information of our movements, put it into a computer and that becomes the basis for The Hulk. It’s very complex, methodical, and in a lot of ways, a really nascent technology. It’s a creature, but it also feels human and I’m thrilled by it. My experience in a lot of these types of films is that you feel like you’re watching two movies—the CGI movie and the human portion. But now we’re free as actors through this technology and audiences can stay connected and track the character for the entire film."
"We wanted to incorporate more of the actor then ever before so that the face and mannerisms of The Hulk come from Mark Ruffalo’s face," adds Marvel Studios President and executive producer of the film,
Kevin Feige.
"We have never done this before, but it was a tremendous help in making audiences feel Bruce Banner and The Hulk were one in the same. When he turns into The Hulk, all of the goodwill we get from a very likable Bruce Banner goes into him and you get more expression, more character and more emotion then we have ever gotten out of the character."
•Kevin Feige, Joss Whedon and Robert Downey Jr. Discuss MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
•The Cast Of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS Discuss Their Characters In The Superhero Ensemble
•Kevin Feige Describes THE AVENGERS As Being From Nick Fury's Point Of View
•Joss Whedon, Cobie Smulders And More Comment On Maria Hill's Place In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr.: "If Steve Rogers And Tony Stark’s Relationship Doesn't Work, Then THE AVENGERS Doesn’t Work"
•Joss Whedon Describes Agent Coulson's "Man Crush" On Captain America In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr. And Gwyneth Paltrow On The Return Of Pepper Potts In THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Chris Evans Discuss The First Day Of Shooting THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Jeremy Latcham On The Challenges Of Writing THE AVENGERS
•Stellan Skarsgård And Patricia Whitcher On Bringing Back Erik Selvig For THE AVENGERS
•Tom Hiddleston Talks Stunt Training And Loki's Battle With Thor On Stark Tower
•Joss Whedon, Scarlett Johansson And Samuel L. Jackson Talk Black Widow
•Chris Hemsworth And Kevin Feige Talk THE AVENGERS; Reveal How Thor Returns To Earth
•Kevin Feige And Louis D'Esposito On S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Role In THE AVENGERS
•The Cast And Crew Of THE AVENGERS Discuss Assembling On Set For The First Time
•Scarlett Johansson And More Discuss Training For Black Widow's Fight Scenes
•Joss Whedon And Mark Ruffalo On Bringing A New Bruce Banner To The Big Screen In THE AVENGERS
•Tom Hiddleston And Chris Hemsworth Discuss Thor And Loki's Relationship And More
•The Crew Of THE AVENGERS Look Back On The Explosive Scenes Filmed In Cleveland
•Joss Whedon And Kevin Feige Discuss The Design And Introduction Of The Helicarrier
•Chris Evans And Chris Hemsworth Describe The Battle Between Cap, Thor And Iron Man
STARRING:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
RELEASE DATE: April 26th, 2012. (UK) May 4th, 2012. (US)