Tony Stark and Captain America nearly joined The Incredible Hulk for a darker MCU story
Louis Leterrier says his 2008 The Incredible Hulk almost took a much darker turn — and it would’ve roped in two very familiar faces from across the MCU.
Right, so here’s a fun bit of Marvel trivia that’s only just coming to light—turns out The Incredible Hulk nearly had a much bleaker storyline, plus early appearances from Tony Stark and Captain America. Director Louis Leterrier recently pulled back the curtain on what might’ve been, giving us a glimpse at a version of the film the public definitely didn’t get in cinemas.
The Incredible Hulk opened in cinemas in June 2008 and marked only the second outing in the MCU after Iron Man.
What We Didn’t See
During an interview with Collider to promote his latest, The Last House, Leterrier confirmed that he actually cut together a much darker, longer version of the Hulk. Apparently, his take was packed with elements meant to set up future MCU storylines—bits that now feel almost prophetic. He said it wasn’t an hour longer, but there was plenty more material.
And about those cameos: Leterrier revealed they filmed scenes at the North Pole featuring Tony Stark (so, Robert Downey Jr.) and even Captain America—though Cap hadn’t actually shown up in the MCU at that point. Leterrier put it this way during the chat with Collider:
‘It was a little ahead of its time, so we didn’t do it. But Captain America was in it. Tony Stark was in it — he’s still in it. And the opening was actually quite interesting. It was set in the North Pole. It was cool. A little too dark.’
He also mentioned some of this lost footage has slipped out over the years, but there’s still more no one’s seen yet.
The Hulk’s Place in MCU History
Edward Norton was the one hulking out as Bruce Banner in this film, with Lou Ferrigno doing the Hulk’s voice. Of course, Norton never returned—Mark Ruffalo took over for later MCU instalments. Iron Man dropped first, in May 2008, followed by The Incredible Hulk a month later in June. Despite riding the early wave of MCU hype, the film didn’t exactly set the box office on fire; it scraped together just north of $264 million worldwide against a hefty $150 million budget. Not terrible, but a fair cry from Marvel’s later blockbusters. As of now, the Rotten Tomatoes critics have it at a middling 68% approval rating.
And if you’re wondering why we’ve never had another big-screen solo adventure for the Hulk since, well, this lukewarm reception might be one of the reasons.