5 incredible things about Hulk’s big return in ‘Thor’
No one has put his signature touch on the Avengers’ rage monster more than Mark Ruffalo.
Following versions played by Eric Bana and Edward Norton, Ruffalo’s incredible Hulk proved to be a fan favorite in the previous two Avengers movies. He returns for a third tour of “Hulk smash!” duty in Thor: Ragnarok (in theaters Thursday night).
“I love it and I enjoy it, and I want to keep expanding it,” says Ruffalo, who plays both the rampaging Hulk and his genius alter ego, Bruce Banner.
Here are five things you need to know about the return of the Hulk:
1 The big green guy gets chatty this time.
Played by Ruffalo via motion capture, the Hulk has done a lot of grunting in the previous films but is downright talkative in Ragnarok. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) winds up in the alien world Sakaar and encounters his “friend from work,” leading to an epic team-up to save Thor’s home world of Asgard and some in-depth conversations along the way. “You get the character as he exists completely on his own,” Ruffalo says. “That’s something I’ve always been interested in: What is the Hulk like? What is he like as a roommate? How does he sleep, what does he eat, what does he do with his spare time?”
2 Bruce Banner is out of his comfort zone.
When Hulk turns back into Banner, the scientist learns he has lost two years (after flying off to nowhere at the end of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron) being Hulk the whole time. And he kinda freaks out, leading to a little existential crisis before getting his mojo back. It’s the most layered Banner we’ve seen yet from Ruffalo, says Ragnarok director Taika Waititi: “He’s never just dialing it in. He’s constantly seeking out something in that dangerous creative zone.”
3 Get ready for a struggle from within.
Ragnarok digs into how Hulk and Banner are beings “fighting for the same body,” Waititi says. “Parts of each other’s personalities are coming out when one of them is dominant.” The new Thor begins a three-movie character arc for the Hulk, carrying over into Avengers:
Infinity War (May 4, 2018) and concluding with the fourth Avengers (May 3, 2019), exploring the balancing of those personalities within the bigger Marvel universe. “We’re consciously heading in a direction where this separation that you’re seeing right now is going to be dealt with and explored,” Ruffalo says.
4 Thor and Hulk make good friends ...
It’s an unlikely pairing, sure, but “there’s an oddball quality to it — Hulk’s largeness and simplicity of thinking and Thor’s otherworldly, godlike naiveté,” Ruffalo says. “And Banner and Thor together: the least superhero of them all with the most superhero of them all. It’s so silly and goofy and fantastic, of course you’re going to have high jinks.”
5 ... but the craziest relationship is yet to come.
The two upcoming Avengers movies bring together various Marvel casts. “All of the universes coming together is just a sight gag within itself,” Ruffalo says. One of the coolest new friendships, though, is Hulk and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) from Guardians of the Galaxy. “It’s a very funny relationship: ... First of all, it’s the biggest superhero and the smallest. Just keeping them in a frame together is a feat.”