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Mark Ruffalo Justifies Controversial Hulk Ending in Avengers: Infinity War


Over the years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought story endings that some fans have a hard time accepting. Before the catastrophic finale of Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War had its controversies, one of which was the ending for Mark Ruffalo’s big, angry Avenger, The Hulk. The actor recently revealed during the Emerald City Comic Con 2023 (via Popverse) that his hero is supposed to have a bigger role in the final battle of the 2018 blockbuster until directors Joe and Anthony Russo realized that they “couldn’t have Hulk, again, save the day,”

“It’s been amazing fun, and really challenging, and always surprising. Even to the point where we were shooting [Avengers:] Infinity War, and Hulk was supposed to come busting out of the Hulkbuster at the end. I don’t know if you know that. And we shot that. We shot it four times and it wasn’t working. And then, we realized that — well, the [Russo] brothers realized — that we couldn’t have Hulk, again, save the day. That we had to have Banner lose without Hulk.” Ruffalo narrated.

He continued, “And that was the kind of thing where it was in the script one way for two years, and then when we got in to shoot it, we decided it would be better for the story if Hulk doesn’t show up, and Banner has to somehow try to make friends with him. Get him back. But that’s kind of how these things have evolved and so they’re always surprising in some new way, even when you’re down to the very last moment, and you’re shooting the end of the movie, and you keep coming back.”

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At the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Bruce Banner aka The Hulk battles Thanos in a spaceship carrying Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and other Asgardians. The fight, however, ends with Thanos defeating the Hulk, who is then returned to Earth by Heimdall (Idris Elba). Throughout the film, Banner tries to convince the Hulk to take over and assist the rest of the MCU's heroes in stopping Thanos. The Hulk, on the other hand, refuses, leaving Banner alone.

Banner was one of the heroes who escaped the Blip at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. He discovered a way to combine his intelligence while remaining in the Hulk's body in the sequel film Avengers: Endgame. As the Multiverse Saga continues, Ruffalo's The Hulk is set to appear in Marvel's future offerings, like Avengers: Secret Wars.

Avengers: Infinity War is now streaming on Disney+.

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