Destin Daniel Cretton Says Mark Ruffalo Still Has Hulk Solo Movie Ideas in His Back Pocket

Mark Ruffalo has spent well over a decade bringing Bruce Banner to life across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, yet a true solo outing for the character has remained one of the franchise’s most persistent what-ifs. Fans have watched him steal scenes in ensemble films for years while wondering if he’d ever get his own spotlight.

That question has resurfaced again now that Ruffalo has returned to the role in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, marking his first appearance as Hulk since 2022’s ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ and his first feature film outing since 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’. His inclusion in Destin Daniel Cretton’s film has reignited plenty of chatter about where the character could go next.

That speculation only grew stronger recently when Cretton, the film’s director, addressed the topic directly. According to Cretton, Ruffalo has continued developing ideas for a potential standalone Hulk project, suggesting the actor hasn’t given up on the concept despite years of uncertainty surrounding the character’s cinematic future.

That kind of persistence tracks with Ruffalo’s own public comments over the years. He’s floated the idea of a solo Hulk film in interviews dating back several years, at one point describing interest in exploring the gap between Bruce Banner’s various on-screen transformations, a stretch of the character’s history that’s never been fully explored in any MCU project.

Ruffalo’s stance on the subject has shifted considerably over time. Back in 2017, he flatly told Variety at Disney’s D23 Expo that a standalone Hulk movie would never happen, citing rights complications with Universal Pictures, which has held onto certain Hulk film rights since the character’s 2003 and 2008 outings.

By 2020, though, Ruffalo had softened that stance considerably, telling Variety he found the idea of filling in the character’s untold history “interesting” and worth exploring if the opportunity ever arose. He’s continued to circle back to the concept in interviews, even while acknowledging the financial hurdles involved in bringing a CGI-heavy character like Hulk to the screen for an entire feature.

His casting in ‘Brand New Day’ represents a notable step back into the spotlight regardless of whether a solo film ever materializes. Cretton has described directing scenes between Ruffalo and Tom Holland as immediately compelling, noting that putting the two actors together produced something explosive and surprisingly intimate on screen.

That dynamic plays into one of the film’s most anticipated elements, a live-action face-off between Spider-Man and Hulk pulled straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. Cretton and Holland have both spoken about how naturally that confrontation came together once filming began, framing it as a long-awaited translation of a beloved comic book pairing.

Whether any of that momentum eventually leads to Ruffalo finally getting his own Hulk-focused project remains to be seen, especially given how the character’s film rights situation has complicated things in the past. Still, the fact that Cretton is even discussing Ruffalo’s pitches publicly suggests the door hasn’t been fully closed on the idea internally.

For now, audiences will get to see Ruffalo’s Hulk back in action within an ensemble setting once ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ arrives in theaters.

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ hits theaters on July 31.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!