Avengers: Endgame
didn’t just bring us the epic conclusion of the Infinity Saga, but also marked the exit of three major characters who we’ve grown to love over the past decade. Black Widow and Iron Man died in their quests to do whatever it takes to get rid of Thanos, and Captain America went back to the past to grow old with Peggy. Yes, Natasha will still appear in a standalone Black Widow film next year, the first MCU Phase 4 movie, but it’s a prequel so it won’t continue her story. And Tony Stark may also score cameos in future films, but only when the action happens in the past. RDJ will also voice Iron Man in the What If…? Disney+ series, but those stories still aren’t advancing past Endgame. The same goes for Steve Rogers, who passed on the Cap mantle to Falcon.
Of the remaining three original six Avengers, including Hawkeye, Hulk, and Thor, two of them are expected to exit the MCU in Phase 4. Now, we have news about the third.
Hawkeye will appear in the Hawkeye Disney+ series, where he’ll supposedly train his replacement Kate Bishop to take over his bow-wielding duties. Thor, meanwhile, will pass the hammer to his former love interest Jane in Thor 4. Even though both of those characters still have some stories left to tell before they depart the MCU, Endgame already delivered proper endings for both arcs. Clint Barton has reunited with his family at the end of Endgame, while Thor finally found purpose in life, leaving for space to reunite with the Guardians.
This brings us to Hulk, who morphed into the smarter “Professor Hulk” version of the “other guy” in the years that passed between Infinity War and Endgame. He’s the only original Avenger whose future isn’t clear at this point. He’s also the hero who saved everyone, resurrecting all the living beings in the universe that were snapped out of existence in Infinity War. On top of that, he happens to be hugely popular in 2023.
Marvel hasn’t announced any plans that include Hulk, although there is a She-Hulk TV series planned for Phase 4.
Mark Ruffalo, the actor who has been playing Hulk ever since Edward Norton stepped away from the role, revealed recently that Hulk might still have some stories to tell in the MCU. And that’s because Marvel apparently wants to see more Hulk in the future. The actor appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his latest movie, Dark Waters, but Ruffalo eventually ended up talking Hulk with the talk show host.
Asked if we’ll ever see the Hulk again, Ruffalo said that he doesn’t know, adding that “I do know that I did give Kevin Feige the BlockBuster Award a the Hollywood Film Awards the other day, to a smattering of applause, and he did say ‘Hey, do you think there is anymore story left here?”
Ruffalo continued, “And I said I could probably come up with a few storylines. And he said, ‘well, maybe you should come in, and we’ll have a talk.’”
That’s certainly exciting news for the only Avenger whose arc didn’t get any closure. Ruffalo, of course, made a name for himself for not being able to keep Marvel secrets, but this doesn’t appear to have been a secret conversation.
Separately, Ruffalo talked with People and told the magazine that he’ll talk to Feige about his future in the MCU. He also said that he wouldn’t mind having a cameo in She-Hulk, and that’s something he’ll discuss with Feige as well.
She-Hulk’s launch date is yet to be revealed, but you can watch Ruffalo’s appearance on Colbert below.
