The Incredible Hulk was developed by Marvel Studios at a time when the MCU's future hinged on the success of that and Iron Man. The Armoured Avenger's solo outing was viewed as a huge gamble, while the Jade Giant was, surprisingly, believed to be a safe bet.
By the time 2008 ended, Iron Man had grossed $585 million and earned widespread acclaim. The Incredible Hulk, on the other hand, suffered from issues behind the scenes and received tepid reviews and a disappointing $264 million global haul.
Now, it's been revealed that Bruce Banner actor Edward Norton wasn't the only difficult lead star filmmaker Louis Leterrier had to contend with.
"William Hurt didn’t want the mustache to act him out. The size of the mustache was a discussion," he recalls in the video below. "But sometimes he and I clashed. You have two types of actors. You got your partners, your best friends that you have to cajole all day, and then the people who like to have these arguments. They feed off that. That’s how he worked."
"One day he was screaming at me, 'You don’t know anything about actors!'" Leterrier continued. "Too bad for him he was in the giant helicopter at the end and I was at the control. He was like, 'You have to find the button to the nuclear plant...' I took the joystick and shook him and he fell and looked at me and was like, 'I like you!' That was it. He just wanted to have a little bit of a fight."
It sounds like a bizarre dynamic, albeit one which seemed to be part of Hurt's approach to acting. With Norton getting heavily involved in production, there was a fair bit of chaos on set and it was only during post that Marvel Studios wrestled the movie away from him to create the cut they, not their lead star, wanted.
That left Norton incensed and saw Kevin Feige publicly fire him before casting Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers.
Hurt would later return as General "Thunderbolt" Ross in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. Unfortunately, his health later declined and he passed away last year.
Now, Harrison Ford will take over the role in Captain America: Brave New World. In the movie, the expectation is that Ross will become U.S. President and that he'll eventually transform into the Red Hulk for a clash with Sam Wilson.
You can check out the full interview with Leterrier in the player below.