The Hulk Isn't Grey After All! Exclusive: Avi Arad fills us in Source: Avi Arad
You know this ‘The Hulk may be grey in the new Incredible Hulk movie’ business that’s been floating around the internet for the last couple of days? Well, as it turns out, he won’t be. Move along, nothing to see here!
How do we know this? Well, just this afternoon we spoke exclusively to Avi Arad, ace comic book movie producer and the guy whose casual mention of a ‘new colour’ at a round table in LA sparked a net-geek frenzy on a scale rarely seen, and he confirmed it. Simple.
“It was a joke!” laughs Arad, in town to talk up Spider-Man 3, which opens on May 4. “Here’s what it was. There were 30 people around a table, and they said ‘is there going to be a grey Hulk?’ And I was thinking about it and I said, ‘who knows?’ It was one of those moments. I had just got back from Japan and I was trying to talk about Spider-Man and this guy was pushing me on The Hulk so I thought I’ll be coy. I don’t know what colour it is, and all of a sudden it’s headline news.”
But Arad did mention a new colour – so will the eponymous star of Louis Letterier’s movie, due out in 2008, still be green? Or orange? Or pink with yellow stripes?
“It’s a different shade of green,” confirms Arad. “But the colour is not like the old Hulk. And no, there’s no grey Hulk.”
Talk of a grey Hulk had led to fevered speculation that this version of Ol’ Green/Greyskin would have some intelligence, and even be able to speak, much like the grey Hulk in the comic books. However, not content with debunking one rumour, Avi swiftly shot down another.
“He’ll be instinctive, like a primal creature. That’s what’s interesting. There’s no smarts. My dog is the gentlest animal out there, but he hates the plumber. He won’t fight with anybody, hates the plumber!”
Of course, The Hulk will be taking on a bigger foe than The Plumber in The Incredible Hulk, namely The Abomination, but Arad is adamant that Marvel and Universal are heading in the right direction with the movie, particularly the casting. Last week’s news that Edward Norton – indie darling and star of resolutely uncommercial films, for the most part – had signed on to play Bruce Banner. Especially when it was further revealed that he had actually turned down the Ang Lee version, in 2003. So, why the change of heart for Norton?
“I think we have a much better story,” reveals Arad. “I think he likes Louis Leterrier. It’s a very different movie, one of my personal goals was to make another Hulk movie where Hulk is heroic, lovable, the real Frankenstein story. That’s what we set out to do. To me, I was stuck – literally – if it wasn’t Ed Norton. I was sitting, thinking ‘he has to make it happen’.”
Arad also mentioned that the casting of “an amazing” Betty – Banner’s love interest – should be confirmed within the next couple of days. Keep ‘em peeled, people!
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I agree with Cameron1975Williams. Paying money for Daredevil...? They couldn't pay me to see it again!
And how is Ed Norton a better Hulk than Eric Bana? Hell, why get Norton at all? Couldn't they get someone who looked a little less sneaky/creepy?
If the new Hulk movie should be better than the first it would be because of a better script, not because of a better leading man. Chopper alone was a more impressive performance by Bana than all of Norton's on-screen performances put together.
... Read More
I have Hulk, Daredevil and Daredevil: Director's cut. And now, reading this back, I realise I also have too much disposable income and not enough of a life. *sighs* ... Read More
L: Cameron1975Williams
This sequel is for all the people who didn't get Ang lee's film. i.e: people who bought Daredevil on DVD.
both daredevil AND hulk on dvd. ... Read More
A Daredevil sequel would be awesome I loved the first 1,as for the Hulk the first one was let down by the anti-climactic ending,you just can't end a super-hero with that kinda lame ass guff. ... Read More
