Saturday, July 10, 2010

This Just In 7/10/09


Hulk angry because Hulk not know who play him in movie. RARRRRR!


Marvel has just announced that they plan to find a new 'name' actor to play Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie rather than bring back Edward Norton. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige issued the following statement:

"We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. 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, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks."

First off, that's kind of a low blow/attack on Edward Norton and just a douche way of saying it. Edward Norton is a good actor and I feel this statement is implying he's garbage. You don't want to bring him back, whatever, you don't have to mudsling. Unprofessional sir.

Second, it's not over money? I don't believe you. Marvel is notorious for low balling their actors when it comes to pay. It was rumored that's why Terrance Howard didn't come back for Iron Man 2 and why Sam Jackson almost didn't come back to play Nick Fury. Even Chris Evans was rumored to be paid only $500,000 for Captain America. Norton's a higher up actor who's not past his prime, so I think money had at least a little to do with it.

So you're short a guy for your ensemble movie you're leading up to with all of your other movies. What are you gonna do now? Bring Eric Bana back? That'll piss off even more fanboys. You want a 'name' actor? It'll be interested to hear their choice.

One article I read on the matter made a suggestion that I found to be brilliant and probably the only one that would make this nerd remotely happy. The name they gave was


Sharlto Copely

Maybe not an obvious choice to some, but the District 9 star has got more than what it takes for this role. His physical appearance isn't drastically different than Norton's from the last Hulk movie (not as drastic as the difference between Don Cheadle and Terrance Howard anyway), he's got some star power steam going with District 9 and the A-Team both being well received, and the guy has proven he can act. Even the A-Team was an ensemble/team cast so Marvel can already see he's good in that environment.

Although idealy I would rather see Norton return to the lab coat of Bruce Banner, this is an excellent second choice that wouldn't take me out of the Avengers movie that has about as much going for it as it does working against it at this point.

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