The Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of The Hulk has so far said only a handful of lines ("Hulk Smash!" and "Puny God!" for example) but Thor: Ragnarok's Green Goliath is able to speak and vastly more intelligent than previous iterations of the character. Now, in a new interview, director Taika Waiiti has shed some light on the decision to shake things up with the Jade Giant by giving him a meatier role.
Interestingly, it sounds like the decision stemmed from a suggestion made by Chris Hemsworth and the idea that Mark Ruffalo would have much more to do in the MCU if The Hulk was finally able to speak.
"Yeah, that was really, just like with Chris, just wanting make it more interesting for Mark to play that character because in the films he just said one or two words and just destroyed everything, and that was the version of Hulk I think that everybody knows. But this version — the smarter version — it’s just become so much more interesting and engaging because he’s been the Hulk for two years. He’s a hero on this planet and he’s had more time to just sit with himself and feel comfortable in his own skin.
"And now you can see Hulk sitting still and being kind of like a big silverback. There’s there’s this moment when he’s in the hot tub in his apartment – he just feels like General [Colonel] Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. He’s just sitting there, just contemplating things and you can feel him probably ruminating over all sorts of stuff inside his head. And that introspective, that very still version of Hulk, I think is way more fascinating than the guy that just destroys everything."
As time goes on, it will be interesting seeing just how uh The Hulk evolves, especially as there's been so much talk of him having a three movie story arc which will run through Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4. His newfound ability to speak is probably going nowhere but will he ultimately wind up with Bruce Banner's intelligence. That's a question we'll learn the answer to over the next two years.
Are you excited to see The Hulk speak in Thor: Ragnarok? Share your thoughts in the usual place.
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