Russo Brothers Explain Decisions Behind Bruce Banner/Hulk In AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR And Trailer Misdirection

Russo Brothers Explain Decisions Behind Bruce Banner/Hulk In AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR And Trailer Misdirection

The Russo brothers share some insight into the 'path' they chose for Bruce Banner and the Hulk in Avengers: Infinity War and touch on footage of the Hulk in various trailers. Warning, SPOILERS ahead...

By HeavyMetal4Life - May 07, 2018 12:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Infinity War
Source: ComicBook.com
Avengers: Infinity War opened with a brutal fight between the Hulk and Thanos. While the Hulk initially had the upper hand, the Mad Titan quickly overpowers him and essentialy beats him into such a state of fear that the Hulk has no interest in coming out to play later on in the film. This sharply contrasted with the amount of Hulk we saw in Thor: Ragnarok, where Bruce Banner largely took the backseat. 

Speaking at an event for the Smithsonian Associates this past week, the Russos were asked about their decision to keep Banner from transforming into the Hulk during the climatic battle. Joe Russo explained that while he and his brother are huge fans of the Hulk, they felt the audience had grown accustomed to Banner Hulking out at the last minute and saving the day.

Therefore, the brothers decided to turn this expectation its head and instead self-empower Bruce Banner, putting him in a situation where he must rely on his own skills and intuition to face Thanos and his forces, rather than those of the Hulk. Joe Russo had the following to say about Banner not being able to rely on the Hulk to save him this time: 

We have to be careful with the character of Banner. Because if every time he's in trouble Hulk saves him, Hulk becomes the hero and he becomes whiny. We wanted to force Banner to be the hero.

The Russos also explained that the Hulk's appearance in trailers in the battle of Wakanda was a deliberate misdirection to prevent people from figuring out the movie's final act. They sought to keep fans continuously guessing about how those events would unfold in Wakanda, a true testament to their extreme efforts to spoil as little of Infinity War as possible before the film arrived in theaters.

So there you have it! Hulk was never planned to have a role in the latter part of the movie, and the focus was always on having Banner fight as himself. Be sure to share your thoughts below about the amount of Hulk vs Bruce Banner in Avengers: Infinity War, and your predictions on Banner/Hulk's arc in Avengers 4.
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Imfunnyhow
Imfunnyhow - 5/7/2018, 1:43 AM
I always wonder what would the MCU be like if Edward Norton had stayed
Mjolnir215
Mjolnir215 - 5/7/2018, 11:08 AM
@Imfunnyhow - He would’ve caused a lot of problems on set with the directors and screenwriters. He would’ve pissed off the other actors when, during the filming of a scene, he would say a line that’s not in the script. The other actor would be like “WTF?” Ed Norton would be like “Oh, I didn’t like my dialogue so I changed it.” Then he refuses to come out of his trailer, causing delays in the filming because no one is listening to his ideas even though he wasn’t hired as a director or screenwriter. He was hired to act and that’s it. Great actor but a pretentious asshole.
CaptainAmerica
CaptainAmerica - 5/7/2018, 11:21 AM
@Mjolnir215 - so like alot of the actors already in the MCU?
csims1885
csims1885 - 5/7/2018, 1:26 AM
I wish they would explain the low rate CGI with Banner in the Hulkbuster at the end. It's seriously the only bad CGI in that film.
Luminus
Luminus - 5/7/2018, 1:28 AM
@csims1885 - Nope. Rhodey's CGI in his final shot was unbelievably bad.
Kevwebsz
Kevwebsz - 5/7/2018, 1:31 AM
@csims1885 -
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 5/7/2018, 1:26 AM
As much as I love the Hulk and I always get giddy about him transforming and smashing shit, I dug that decision. It was a genuine surprise, I’m interested in how they resolve it in the next movie, and it gave Bruce a chance to have a cool action moment without needing to transform.
sickboy76
sickboy76 - 5/7/2018, 5:03 AM
@MUTO123 - fiege and ruffalo did say that the full hulk story would be told in these 3 films as they can't make another hulk film.
WarNoodle
WarNoodle - 5/7/2018, 5:13 AM
@MUTO123 - yeah I like the decision too. They will resolve it with Widow coming to a near death situation and Hulk just comes out I imagine.
HarrowRed
HarrowRed - 5/7/2018, 6:56 AM
@MUTO123 - I think that this wasn't just to give banner his due. I think they recognized that it would be more impactdul if they saved that big moment for the next one. I anticipate we'll get a huge hulk out moment in a4. I wouldnt even be surprised if it comes as part of a "redo" if the Wakanda battle as a part of time travel shenanigans
BlindAl9
BlindAl9 - 5/7/2018, 1:36 AM
I totally agree with this. Hopefully they'll give him a lot to do in the next movie
AC1
AC1 - 5/7/2018, 1:52 AM
I really liked this aspect of the movie, it was cool seeing Banner step up and interesting to see the Hulk's personality continuing to develop beyond 'big angry green smashy guy'. I mean, have we ever seen any big or small screen version of the Hulk scared before? I'd imagine they've done it in the comics but it's such a cool thing to do in the movie, especially as we know it'll probably pay off in Avengers 4 - plus it has the added benefit of hammering home just how big a threat Thanos really is.

I mean, we've seen this Hulk beat Abomination to a pulp, fight Thor multiple times, take on half an alien army alone, rampage through a high-tech Hydra army, fight and nearly beat an Iron Man armour specifically designed to neutralise him, fight an army of high tech robots, become the most fearsome gladiator on a planet full of dangerous creatures, help fight off an undead army, kill a giant undead wolf, and even try to take on Surtur alone! For him to go through all of that and show no fear at all, and then to be scared into hiding after his first fight with Thanos, really shows just how powerful Thanos is.

I'm really intrigued to see where this goes in the next Avengers movie.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/7/2018, 1:56 AM
Heh, yeah that's what i figured.
They wanted to give him a storyarc and that's what they did...for the sake of it...
Personally, i didn't like it.
I kept saying "Surely we'll see Hulk at least in the third act, just like in the trailer, he'll rip the Hulkbuster and have his moment"
And...that...never happened. :/
Ragnarocknroll
Ragnarocknroll - 5/7/2018, 2:08 AM
@Doomsday8888 - And I loved that it didn't happen.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/7/2018, 2:10 AM
@Ragnarocknroll
Dunno why, but something tells me that you'd have been fine even if he did! :P
JustAChillDude
JustAChillDude - 5/7/2018, 3:31 AM
@Doomsday8888 - I'm glad it didn't happen, because Hulk would've busted out of Hulkbuster just to lose again at the end. ....SNAP
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 5/7/2018, 3:36 AM
@Doomsday8888 - Successfully subverted your expectations.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/7/2018, 4:29 AM
@JustAChillDude
The OG Avengers survived the snap, so...
@EskimoJ
I mean...heh, indeed. :P
Ragnarocknroll
Ragnarocknroll - 5/7/2018, 2:08 AM
Man, I'm just not over this film. It's a [frick]ing masterpiece. Easily my favourite CBM of all time and one of my top 5 favourite epics as well.
AC1
AC1 - 5/7/2018, 2:09 AM
Also I really wanna throw out some impossible predictions for Avengers 4 just to get them out there even though they'll never happen, so:
Hulk and Banner get separated, Thor permanently joins the Guardians of the Galaxy, Tony retires and Banner becomes the new Iron Man, Steve retires in Wakanda, Bucky and Falcon team up and one of them becomes the new Captain America, Dr Strange recruits Spider-Man and The Hulk and maybe Scarlet Witch to create a new incarnation of The Defenders, Black Panther leads a new team of Avengers (comprised of himself, Captain Marvel, War Machine, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Bucky and Falcon) with occasional assistance from Dr Strange's Defenders.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/7/2018, 2:09 AM
I get that even though I would never think about Banner as whiny when Hulk comes out, the way it happened in The Avengers for example que he admitted he was always angry.

Just make him have the biggest come back next year because right now Bruce Banner has all my respect in being the strongest and bravest Avenger.
ARMUS
ARMUS - 5/7/2018, 2:16 AM
A set up easier to see than Thanos chin, he'll pummel Thanos in the sequel, be the one to defeat him, Hulk like fire, Hulk be conveniently smarter in sequel, I put a few quid down, if it goes that way, Woo Hoo
deepee3
deepee3 - 5/7/2018, 2:26 AM
My prediction:
Hulk and Banner become separated in A4.

Without the human influence of Banner, Hulk becomes a monster of pure rage and savage power. He will be the one to defeat Thanos in a climactic final battle....but he will also become a villain in the MCU going forward.

See Incredible Hulk #315 - #316 for clues on how Hulk will be handled going forward.
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