During Marvel Studios' panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Avengers: Infinity War and
Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that Mark Ruffalo's
Bruce Banner was initially meant to merge with his mean, green alter ego the Hulk in
Infinity War rather than in Avengers: Endgame.
According to Polygon, Markus and McFeely explained that one of the most difficult things to get
right was crafting the big character moment where Banner finally settles his differences
with the Jade Giant, brings together his brain with the Hulk's brawn, arising a smart version
of the Hulk.
The duo wanted the character's arc to make sense, with viewers easily understanding the
motivations behind and methods of Banner's metamorphosis, but it turned out to be more
complicated than they initially thought.
As Markus explained, the Infinity War team wrote and filmed the whole transformation,
saying:
"He achieved union with the Hulk while inside the Hulkbuster.
He kicked Cull Obsidian's ass."
Banner and Hulk becoming one while wearing the Hulkbuster armor was such a hit with the
Infinity War crew, they swiftly moved along to shoot Avengers: Endgame, thinking everything
was ship-shape and would be satisfying for fans.
But Markus and McFeely found flaws in their plan to introduce Professor Hulk in Infinity
War.
"If it works, it's gonna work, and you have a lot of chances to find that out.
And if it doesn't work, we'll circle back around."
In their eyes, the magic of the Hulk-Banner union subsequent butt-kicking of Black Order
underling Cull Obsidian faded fast, and they realized they absolutely couldn't have that
in the film.
Markus said:
"It didn't work.
It was the wrong tone for the movie.
A big sequence where you see the union take away from the attention of the story."
There was a big problem, though: directors Joe and Anthony Russo had already filmed Avengers:
Endgame, where Banner and Hulk had merged.
So it was reshoots to the rescue.
Markus and McFeely re-worked the Endgame script, Banner actor Ruffalo came back to set to re-film
some sequences, and the theatrical cut of Infinity War was permanently changed.
As fans will recall, Banner does indeed join his fellow heroes to take down Thanos and
his army of aliens across the plains of Wakanda in Infinity War.
And yes, he does wear Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor, because Banner had trouble bringing
Hulk to the surface after his initial, failed scrap with Thanos at the beginning of the
movie.
Following that tussle, which resulted in Loki's death, Banner couldn't "Hulk out" no matter
how hard he tried.
"How we doing? Really really good. "
"Do you plan on helping out?"
"I'm trying!
He won't come out!"
Banner's arc in Avengers: Infinity War contradicted plot points teased in the film's trailers.
One featured Hulk in his full green glory fighting side by side with Earth's Mightiest
Heroes.
After fans saw Infinity War on the silver screen and knew Hulk didn't show up during
that final fight, it was believed that the clips shown in the trailers were examples
of Marvel intentionally misdirecting fans to keep spoilers at bay.
With Markus and McFeely's recent reveal, it stands to reason that the clips of Hulk in
the Infinity War trailers may have come from before the big change was made.
Smart Hulk appears in Avengers: Endgame after the five-year time jump from 2018 to 2023.
The film offered a simple explanation as to how the Banner-Hulk union happened: Banner
spent 18 months in the gamma lab before finding a way to fuse his smarts with Hulk's strength.
"I put the brains and the brawn together.
And now look at me!"
Professor Hulk shares the information with his Avengers pals over breakfast, where he
wolfs down pancakes and takes photos with young fans.
Markus said of the moment in Endgame,
"A scene where Hulk eats a stack of pancakes [...] I've never seen that in a movie."
While it would have been cool to see Banner and the Hulk collide in Infinity War, Markus
and McFeely's ultimate decision to save Professor Hulk for Avengers: Endgame makes more sense.
It may have undercut a moment of personal triumph for Banner to follow it with the Snap.
Both Endgame and Infinity War got rave reviews for their perfect balances of action, comedy
and emotion.
Had the screenwriters stuck to their original plan, the reception may have been different.
"Time travel!"
"Oh my God."
"What?"
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