Marvel Studios never made a sequel to The Incredible Hulk, but that can change with the She-Hulk show on Disney+. Just a few months after releasing Iron Man in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe momentarily put its biggest hero front and center. Edward Norton starred as Bruce Banner in the only MCU Hulk-centric project to date, but he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo for The Avengers after clashing with Marvel creatives.

From that point on, the MCU has largely forgotten about what The Incredible Hulk set up. Besides the continuation of Banner’s story, William Hurt’s Thunderbolt Ross was the only character from The Incredible Hulk to return, and that didn’t happen until Phase 3. As for Hulk, Ruffalo cameoed in the post-credits scene for Iron Man 3, but otherwise his only Phase 2 role was in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Phase 3 was an improvement for the Green Goliath thanks to the arc planned for Hulk over the course of three films. However, this concluded in Avengers: Endgame with Banner and Hulk merging to become Smart Hulk, and with his strength weakened after using the Infinity Stones to reverse Thanos’ snap.

With Hulk’s future in the MCU uncertain (even to Ruffalo), some may think that this will also put the nail in the proverbial coffin of more ties to The Incredible Hulk happening. However, there should be some comfort in knowing that another Hulk is going to be introduced soon. Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk will be the star of a Disney+ original show and will likely be seen in movies not too long after. And with her introduction, Marvel Studios has the opportunity to finally make a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.

The MCU Hasn’t Paid Off Incredible Hulk’s Set Up

Although The Incredible Hulk didn’t end on a major cliffhanger that set up a sequel, it did leave the MCU with multiple characters and storylines ready to be explored. First and foremost, where the film left Emil Blonsky aka Abomination (Tim Roth). He was defeated by Hulk after their fight across Harlem, but he is still a major villain and insanely powerful. The MCU has even established that he was who the government wanted to be on the Avengers roster, while Agents of SHIELD indicated he was still detained by SHIELD. But, the movies have yet to do anything with Abomination.

Marvel Studios has similarly ignored the set up of Leader that The Incredible Hulk had at the end. The finale had Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) cut his head and some of Banner’s blood drip onto it, which caused his head’s shape to start changing. In the comics, Sterns was exposed to radiation that changed his skin green, saw his head grow, and increased his intelligence. The Incredible Hulk stopped short of Stern’s head turning green, but the tease was clear and Nelson wants to return. Unlike Abomination though, Sterns’ whereabouts since the film have not been confirmed.

The MCU has also avoided addressing smaller pieces of set up for future Hulk stories or even character histories and motivations. For instance, Bruce and Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) appeared to have rekindled their relationship by the end of the film, but that romance hasn’t been mentioned since. There has also been a lack of acknowledgment about Thunderbolt Ross’ history with Hulk and a general disdain for him.

Why An Incredible Hulk Sequel Never Happened

With the potential for these stories, there are numerous of reasons why Marvel Studios never made The Incredible Hulk 2. Even though it was just their second film and the box office dominance of the MCU hadn’t yet begun, the original film was still a disappointment financially. It only made $263 million worldwide, which is still the lowest ever for an MCU film, on a reported $150M budget. Fast forward a few years though and Hulk was the scene-stealer in The Avengers. So why didn’t a Hulk sequel get made then?

Even though Hulk’s movie rights reverted to Marvel in 2006, Universal still distributed The Incredible Hulk in 2008 as Marvel Studios didn’t have a permanent home. That changed when Walt Disney Studios purchased Marvel Entertainment - and Marvel Studios with it - in 2009. This made Disney the distributor of all MCU films (except the future collaboration with Sony on Spider-Man) starting in Phase 2. Universal may no longer have the rights to Hulk, but their contract has a unique clause that gives them first refusal rights. So, even though Disney and Marvel could make a Hulk movie whenever they want, Universal would get the chance to distribute the film and profit off it instead of Disney. Giving the increasing popularity of the MCU, that is a chance Universal would not likely pass up.

Instead of Disney making another Hulk solo film and risking Universal swooping in, they transitioned Hulk into being a major supporting character who appeared in the Avengers films primarily. Without the possibility of a solo story (and before the days of a possible Disney+ series), Ruffalo and Kevin Feige figured out an arc for Hulk that took place in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. This storyline did progress Hulk in significant ways, but it didn’t tie that heavily into where his MCU arc began.

She-Hulk Should Continue & Expand Hulk’s Story

Ever since She-Hulk was announced last summer, there haven’t been too many details revealed about what the show will be. The mixture of Rick and Morty’s Jessica Gao serving as the lead writer and rumors of an Alison Brie-type wanted to play Jennifer Walters could indicate a comedic approach is in store. But, the actual story that She-Hulk will tell is unclear. The casting breakdown for Walters, though, does tease a comic book accurate origin, where Bruce’s blood saves the life of his cousin and gives her Hulk powers in the process. With the likelihood that Bruce will appear in the series in some fashion, She-Hulk could be used to continue The Incredible Hulk’s story.

The introduction of another Hulk in the MCU is the perfect opportunity to bring back others and have others transform too. She-Hulk would be a natural opportunity to bring back Abomination, as he is the only other Hulk created by Bruce’s DNA in the MCU. The series could explore how the world views and treats Hulks, with Smart Hulk and Abomination serving as the ends of the spectrum. There are also rumors that Thunderbolt Ross will transform into Red Hulk in She-Hulk, so the series could show the journeys of two new Hulks simultaneously that don’t end the same way.

If She-Hulk brings back multiple characters from The Incredible Hulk, that practice could continue in even more ways. Sterns can return as Leader, possibly as a mastermind who is orchestrating the main conflict of the series. Betty is also rumored to return in She-Hulk, which could allow the show to explore her expertise in gamma radiation. It’s even possible that the series could bring back Leonard Samson (Ty Burrell) if Marvel has any interest in exploring how he gets powers too. This could even be the right time to finally introduce Rick Jones.

With all of these possibilities at She-Hulk’s disposal, including some of them would be a great way to continue or wrap up what The Incredible Hulk set up. All of this can even be done without taking away from She-Hulk’s debut, as the series could have her deal with problems that Hulk is no longer able to. This would allow her association with these characters more natural and give She-Hulk the types of connections to the MCU that other Disney+ shows appear to be loaded with.

MORE: Casting She-Hulk For Marvel’s Disney+ Series

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