March's Avengers: Doomsday casting announcement featured a lot of big names, but it was also missing many of the actors who, on the surface, seemed like sure things for the upcoming MCU movie.
Among the absentees was Mark Ruffalo. The Hulk actor has become a Marvel veteran since first playing Bruce Banner in 2012's The Avengers, and he's expected to return as the Jade Giant in next summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day (despite repeatedly playing coy about his involvement).
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon yesterday evening, Ruffalo was asked why he wasn't among those confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday.
"They decided that it was better to get rid of me than for me to tell the end of the next movie," the actor joked before the host moved on to another topic.
While this may seem like Ruffalo's way of avoiding the question, he's not wrong about his habit of inadvertently dropping spoilers. Ahead of Avengers: Infinity War's release, he casually mentioned in an interview that everyone would die at the end of the movie...much to the horror of co-star Don Cheadle.
Before that, when Thor: Ragnarok was released, he accidentally live-streamed part of the movie to fans because his cell phone was in his pocket.
Ruffalo was recently asked for his thoughts on the sort of snobbery MCU movies are subject to from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. For the actor, it comes down to how much he enjoys the work he's doing.
"I don't know, it's acting to me. It's all filmmaking. It's storytelling. I like to do it all," Ruffalo stated. "I don't give a shit. I'm gonna please myself as far as my art goes. I'm having the best time."
He added, "For all of the criticism we might get from the high-brow directors, I've never sat in one of those movies where I've seen people literally screaming, crying, beating their chests. When I went to see [Avengers: Infinity War] with my son, no one knew who I was, and at the end of the movie, they jumped up, they were on their seats like, 'Start a riot!'"
Chances are, The Hulk will factor into Avengers: Doomsday, as will Tatiana Maslany's She-Hulk. Both heroes were featured in leaked concept art, though we have reason to believe that's from Avengers: Secret Wars, where they'll explore the "Greenland" area of Doctor Doom's Battleworld.
You can watch the full interview with Ruffalo in the player below.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.