To be fair, I am pretty much just blowing steam out of my ass in hopes of maybe being on to something here, so please bare with me on this.
At Comic-Con 2010 this year, when Marvel Studios finally unveiled "The Avengers" cast, director Joss Whedon or producer Kevin Feige (cant remember which, I think it was Feige) made a statement relating to Mark Ruffalo being cast as Dr. Bruce Banner, who turns into the angry green goliath when he becomes angry.
The statement went along the lines of Mark being Joss Whedon's Banner. Which Whedon has gone on record saying Ruffalo was his first and only choice to replace Edward Norton, so that is true.
Then we all know about the upcoming "Hulk" tv series in the works for ABC... now here is where I start reaching. What if Joss Whedon has involvement in the show, and Ruffalo may have been cast partially because Whedon felt Mark would fit his vision for his show?
Joss Whedon is first and foremost a big TV personality, being that he created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", "Firefly" and even "Dollhouse", so it would make sense for Marvel to utilize his involvement with "The Avengers" by having him also help out with a "Hulk" tv series.
A loophole however is that it is has been mentioned that the "Hulk" tv show could be its own thing, and could be completely seperated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hence it would not at all need Mark Ruffalo to reprise the role of Bruce Banner.
But let me say this, I personally think there is a great chance that is untrue and we will be seeing the same Banner from the Cinematic Universe in the show. Why? Simply because it would be beneficial to the show and Marvel.
Lets think this through, considering that we know for a fact that Mark Ruffalo has signed on to do five movies total as Bruce Banner, he is going to be committed to the role for a good while now. If the "Hulk" tv show is in its own continuity, we would have two different actors playing Banner at the same time.
Not that that cant work of course, Brandon Routh played Superman while Tom Welling was still in the role. But really, you run the risk of confusing audiences having two completely different Hulks at once.
I also think Marvel is smart enough to realise there have been way too many Banners already and it would be in there best interest to keep Mark Ruffalo for the show. But then you have to wonder if Mark Ruffalo would be willing to transition to television. I think yes.
Mark Ruffalo is hardly a huge star, he gets work and has a great resume of films, but he is highly expendable. He is getting up in age now, 42, and at this stage of his career it might be smart to make some kind of career change. Making the transition to tv really would work for Ruffalo because he is not solidified in film.
I also think Ruffalo fits a nice criteria of an actor that could leave the big screen for the smaller screen.
So, this was just an article to make people think really.