What exactly happened after Edward Norton made The Incredible Hulk with Marvel?
Why was a respected star kicked out of Hollywood's most successful franchise?
From paycheck problems to behind-the-scenes struggles, here are the real reasons Edward
Norton was fired from the MCU.
It's widely known that Norton is a guy who likes to call the shots, even when he's not
the one in charge.
He showed up on the set of Red Dragon one day with new lines he'd written for himself
and Anthony Hopkins.
When he refused to star in the remake of The Italian Job - a film he was contractually
obligated to do - Paramount had to threaten a lawsuit before he accepted the role.
And perhaps most infamously, he used his A-list clout to re-edit American History X, a move
that infuriated director Tony Kaye.
Of course, Marvel Studios has had its fair share of "control freak" moments, too.
When execs didn't like Edgar Wright's vision for Ant-Man or Patty Jenkins'
take on Thor: The Dark World, the studio cut ties with those directors.
Marvel also gave Joss Whedon a hard time during Avengers: Age of Ultron, with Whedon having
to fight tooth and nail to keep certain scenes in the movie.
In other words, Edward Norton is an immovable object and Marvel Studios is an unstoppable
force.
When the two crashed together, things got really messy really fast.
Once shooting was finished on The Incredible Hulk, a civil war broke out between Marvel
and Norton.
After watching the film, studio executives decided that they wanted more action and more
excitement in a shorter runtime.
This didn't sit well with Norton, who had previously been allowed to make his own considerable
rewrites to the script.
Norton was especially upset because he thought he was going to have more say in the creative
process.
According to Deadline, the actor had been "promised tremendous involvement and access"
to the final product, but Marvel wasn't too keen on Norton's contributions, and they chopped
out many of the scenes he'd written.
Flashback sequences that gave Banner more depth were tossed by the wayside, and an opening
scene in which Norton's character tries to end his own life was left on the cutting room
floor.
While Norton was hoping for a more introspective film that ran for around 140 minutes, The
Incredible Hulk became a run-of-the-mill action flick that was just 112 minutes long.
Norton was upset and frustrated, and subsequently took a backseat when it came to promoting
the movie.
In 2010, shortly before the stars of The Avengers assembled at the San Diego Comic-Con, MCU
godfather Kevin Feige - who had originally shown interest in having Norton join The Avengers
- released a statement signaling that the short-lived Norton era was over.
In the statement, Feige said:
"Our decision is definitely not 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."
“I don’t even like the Hulk!
He’s all like, ‘Smash, smash, smash!’
I prefer you.”
Basically, Feige said that Norton was getting the boot because he wasn't a team player.
According to Deadline, one Marvel insider described Norton as a "wolf in the hen house,"
and based on his alleged behavior on films like Red Dragon and American History X, it's
easy to see why Marvel might have been eager to part ways.
Although Feige said money had nothing to do with Norton's firing from The Avengers, Norton’s
agent Brian Swardstrom begged to differ.
According to Swardstrom, Norton had been looking forward to working with Joss Whedon and the
other cast members of The Avengers.
Apparently the actor was "enthusiastic" about starring in such a big blockbuster, but, according
to Swardstrom, Marvel let him go for purely financial reasons.
Infuriated with Feige, Swardstrom said the producer's comments were "mean spirited,"
not to mention "unprofessional, disingenuous, and clearly defamatory."
While Swardstrom's rant didn't exactly do Norton any good, it did raise a few eyebrows
among the Marvel fanbase - and made some people question the studio's version of events.
Norton’s own public opinion on the issue has evolved over the years since he left the
MCU.
In 2008, when the Incredible Hulk drama became public, Norton gave a statement to Entertainment
Weekly blaming the media for twisting the facts and blowing everything out of proportion.
But in June 2010, after telling his Facebook followers that he wouldn't be starring in
The Avengers, Norton wrote:
"I sincerely hoped it could happen and be great for everyone, but it hasn't turned out
as we all hoped."
In a 2011 interview with The Independent, Norton then said that Marvel’s decision
to let him go had nothing to do with him playing nice with others.
He instead claimed that it was a flat-out business decision motivated entirely by money.
Finally, in a 2014 interview with NPR, Norton changed his tune again.
He explained:
"My feeling was that I experimented and experienced what I wanted to.
I really, really enjoyed it."
But Norton also said he was glad to have parted ways with the MCU, as being part of the Marvel
machine would've required years of commitment and might have caused him to miss out on roles
in Birdman and Moonrise Kingdom.
“Jiminy Cricket, he flew the coop.”
For a while, it seemed like the war between Norton and Marvel was over.
In July 2018, Norton took part in a Comedy Central roast of legendary action star Bruce
Willis.
When it was his turn at the mic, Norton poked and prodded at his Hollywood friend, but he
also lobbed a few bombs at the studio that he believed had screwed him over.
Referencing Willis' tough guy filmography, Norton quipped:
"I tried to be like you.
I did a big action movie called The Incredible Hulk.
You know what went wrong?
I wanted a better script."
And he didn’t finish there.
Norton went on to say:
"I thought we should try to make one Marvel movie that was as good as the worst Christopher
Nolan movie, but what the hell was I thinking?"
It just goes to show that, no matter how much time may have passed, Norton’s still got
a little anger in him.
Check out one of our newest videos right here.
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite actors are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.