This is where Marvel’s casting continuity falls down slightly, as while The Hulk will be appearing in The Avengers, Ed Norton will not. Marvel announced their decision to axe Norton from proceedings just under a month ago, through a fairly snippy statement from Kevin Feige.
“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers,” said Feige. “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.”
So in other words, Ed Norton is a bit of a pain in the arse to work with? It certainly sounds as though Norton rubbed a few people up the wrong way during the making of The Incredible Hulk, but the star’s agent Brian Swardstrom was quick to hit back at any such suggestion.
“This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light,” ranted Swardstrom, before going on to conclude that, “this seemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings.”
No hard feelings apart from the massive offense taken then! It all sounds a bit catty to us, but the bottom line is that Norton is no longer The Hulk. Which leaves a rather substantial pair of purple shorts to be filled…
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Comments
stevolbauer
Aug 5th 2010, 11:27
I will definately be there on opening night to watch it but I dont think the Avengers is gonna be a very good film, I know everyone wants Whedon to direct cause he's close to the source material and Serenity was pretty good but you need a more experienced director for a job like this. And if you thought Iron Man 2 was crowded this has 4 characters who have title roles in movies already. The whole Hulk as the enemy thing will definately be in the film but it will just be a small section so they can have him on their side for the climactic mega battle that will surely ensue. The film will be incredible to watch as it will have a great cast and characters but it will never be able to rub shoulders with the great superhero films like Spiderman 2, X2 or The Dark Knight, or even the slightly lesser films like Hellboy 2 or Iron Man
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higgins78
Aug 5th 2010, 12:22
The only thing I "know" about The Avengers is that its a pre-teen and adolescent middle aged man's wet dream all rolled up into one. It feel lately like every other movie getting the go ahead is of comic book origin, please can this trend stop ASAP!
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DiscoD83
Aug 5th 2010, 14:56
Stevolbauer - some fair points but to state Spiderman 2 and X2 as 'great' superhero films is a bit of a push. as with all superhero movies it will be great if they stick to the endless amounts of source material at their disposal. So many have messed up here. All the Spiderman films, all the x-men films and the fantastic four ones. Dark Knight, Iron Man and possibly the newest Hulk have been the best superhero movies made. Those and Watchmen. Higgins78 - most movies made are based on something that has come before, such as a book, comics and events. Very rarely do you get a true moment of originality. The thing with comics is that they already have an audience and are timeless and make very entertaining movies.
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avatarsmash
Aug 5th 2010, 22:52
There is already a script for the Avengers movie its called the Ultimates wrote by Mark Millar. Just copy that and you will have one awesome movie
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Hadouken76
Aug 6th 2010, 16:11
better off making Defenders of the Earth,
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BennettsVest
Aug 7th 2010, 2:22
I agree with higgins78, this trend must stop ASAP! And while we're at it, let's stop these pre-teen girls wish fulfillment fantasy vampire adaptations! And the incessant dependence on bourgeois classic literature, and these damn pseudo-intellectual crime films! Additionally, we should get rid of teen comedies that appeal to the lowest common denominator, the many variations of so-called horror, science fiction, westerns, family dramas, F*CKING CARTOONS, and the shambolic, childish machismo of the historical epic. There, F*CK ALL LEFT WORTH WATCHING. Congratulations higgins78, we've killed FUN!
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10yearsofbang
Aug 8th 2010, 10:36
Sorry but I need to do this. Avatarsmash - in the context of your comment it should be 'written' not 'wrote'. Ahh that's better. What an a*****e I am. Anyway, The Avengers success depends on the success of the individual films, Captain America should do well but I think Thor will let the side down. That's my prediction anyway. As for other comments about making this type of movie I have to agree with BennettsVest. Cinema should be escapism, pure and unadulterated!! Without tosh like The Avengers or Avatar or whatever, we would only be watching Swedish art house films about star crossed lovers in a sauna. With snowmobiles. I'd probably watch that. FIN.
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MagneticEye84
Aug 9th 2010, 2:07
The Avengers really needs to break new ground in terms of pushing the envelope and giving us a truly dramatic action packed sci-fi cinematic epic. I somehow doubt we'll get that with Joss Whedon directing. He does not have enough cinematic experience. He's a screenwriter from episodic TV and he doesn't fully understand the visual language / structure of cinema. He has been touted as some one who works well with an ensemble cast. Isn't that part of a director's skill set anyway? I'm more looking forward to who the Director of Photography is.
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nastycafe13
Aug 10th 2010, 12:21
cmon you guys are all talking b******t. Joss Whedon has already shown his directing abilities with Buffy and Serenity not to mention his phenominal cult series Firefly. so it will be well written. even if it is f*****g lame then at least people will flock to the cinema to see it, so it will be a box office smash
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