Ang Lee's Hulk was released at a time when the superhero movie genre was very much in its infancy. It joined a small club of early 2000s titles that includes Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Daredevil, but the filmmaker's unique approach to adapting a comic book for the screen split opinions.
Quite literally attempting to bring a comic book to life in a movie, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director didn't lack vision, but the technology wasn't really there to pull off either his vision for the Jade Giant or those comic book panel-inspired screen splits.
A moderate hit at the box office with a $245 million haul, the movie remains a disappointment in the eyes of many, including Lee himself. Five years later, Marvel Studios released The Incredible Hulk, and retained elements of this Green Goliath's origin story (albeit with Edward Norton replacing Eric Bana).
We're expecting this summer's Deadpool 3 to be heavy on Multiversal cameos, though all of those are expected to hail from 20th Century Fox's Marvel movies. However, when Avengers: Secret Wars rolls around, the floodgates will surely open.
During a recent appearance on "Fifi, Fev & Nick for Breakfast" (via ComicBook.com), Bana was asked if he could see his Hulk returning in a Spider-Man: No Way Home-style event movie.
"I can't see it. I can't see it," he admitted, dismissing the possibility of playing Bruce Banner again. The hosts pointed out that the actor still has an impressive enough physique to portray The Hulk to which he said, "Well.....CGI man [Laughs]. You don't really need [it]. Lots of steroids there [Laughs]."
However, before you think Bana is even a little bit open to returning as this version of The Hulk, he concluded by saying, "Nah, I can't see it."
It would be pretty wild for one of the upcoming Avengers movies to have Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, and Bana all standing side-by-side as their respective Variants of Bruce Banner. We wouldn't bank on it, though, and Marvel Studios could probably use CGI to recreate Norton and Bana's respective Hulks without needing either actor.
That would surely raise some eyebrows, particularly after The Flash's cameos were met with a largely negative response last year (Nic Cage has talked openly about how his likeness was used for Superman in a way he never agreed to or anticipated).
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 1, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars to follow on May 7, 2027.