Sad news for “Hulk” fans out there. Edward Norton won’t be reprising the role of Incredible Hulk in 2012’s “The Avengers”. This is according to Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige. According to them, it’s not because of monetary reasons why the actor won’t be coming back, but instead, it is about the casting of the whole Avengers as a team.
"Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. 'The Avengers' demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts.”
But, according to Norton’s representative, Feige’s statement was misleading and both parties had discussions in reprising the role for the actor. In fact, Norton was more than happy to join the “Avengers” cast as most of them were his personal friends. There was no way it had to do with Norton refusing the role and there was no way Feige is going to put the actor in a negative light.
" Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in 'The Avengers.' He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at [Comic-Con] and make it the event of the convention. When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea, Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with [director] Joss Whedon to discuss the project.”
Suddenly, though, the talks fell apart last week as Marvel called Norton’s representative and told him that they wanted to go on another direction for the part. The rep said that “we accepted their decision with no hard feelings... We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige's mean spirited, accusatory comments.” It’s just sad though that Feige would say such things and put Norton in a negative light, when in fact, he actually wanted to be part of the “Avengers” cast and work with the director, Joss Whedon. According to the rep, the “Increible Hulk” actor was excited for everything.
It’s sad though because I was expecting to see more of Edward Norton in “The Avengers”, as he is way much better than the first “Hulk”. Whatever the reasons, he should stay---he’s the best “Hulk” so far, for me. And I’m sure Ed Norton fans are going to be sad too with this news. I can’t help but blame Marvel for it.