Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of the Hulk has been so ingrained in everyone’s minds that it is almost impossible to recall anyone else taking on the role at this point. Yet, there was another popular actor who was the first to bring the Hulk to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Edward Norton, who had a pretty public fallout with Marvel, starred in the 2008 movie, The Incredible Hulk. This movie became one of the few blind spots of the record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Recently, the director, Louis Leterrier, shed light on the fallout and the reason that led to the replacement of Edward Norton by Mark Ruffalo. 

Why was Edward Norton replaced by Marvel?

The fallout between Edward Norton and Marvel was reportedly due to creative differences. As per reports, Norton pushed for a revision of Zak Penn’s script leading to the discord. While talking to Josh Horowitz on his show, Watchalong, Louis Leterrier shared another conflict that might have been a reason behind Norton’s premature exit. He revealed that Norton did not like the soundtrack of the movie and wanted “Radiohead to do the music”. This further deepened the creative divide, primarily stemming from a fundamental difference in the script’s vision. 

Norton wanted Hulk to show up after 40 minutes into the film, which the filmmaker believed could have never materialized. Leterrier was not the one to fire Norton from the movie and he was “neutral” about it. Despite the fallout, the 54-year-old wanted Nortan to be “proud of this movie”. However, Norton made it very clear that he was still upset about the whole discord after he took a shot at Marvel during his Comedy Central performance. 

Edward Norton appeared in the 2018 show, The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, where he left no room for doubt that he had some lingering hard feelings toward the franchise. 

Back when Norton pulled a Hulk on the stage of Comedy Central 

There have been several exchanges of words between Edward Norton and the Marvel makers since their falling out. While roasting Bruce Willis on Comedy Central, The Bourne Legacy actor revealed “what went wrong” with The Incredible Hulk. Taking a shot at the Louis Leterrier movie, Norton said, “I wanted a better script”. He also compared the movie with Christopher Nolan’s “worst” film, The Dark Knight Rises starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 

“What the hell was I thinking”, said Norton while implying that The Incredible Hulk is worse than Christopher Nolan’s worst. From the roast, it was very clear that Norton had not moved on from the dispute. Although the 2008 film fell short of expectations for both the director and the actor, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has stood the test of time and became one of the most beloved portrayals in the years that followed.

What do you think about this recent revelation on Norton’s exit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!