Summary
- Red Hulk was a letdown in Captain America, failing to impress fans who were left wanting more.
- Marvel has diluted the Hulk’s character, making him less impactful, which is irreversible.
- Interest in a solo Hulk film has decreased due to Marvel’s mishandling of the character.
A lot of the discussion about Captain America: Brave New World has been about Antony Mackie’s version of the character and the impact the film could have on the Marvel Cinematic Universe generally. However, the movie could also significantly impact the future of Hulk, even though Mark Ruffalo’s character didn’t feature in it.
Captain America: Brave New World brought Red Hulk to the MCU for the first time, with Harrison Ford taking on the role people have wanted to see for many years. However, despite the character being visually impressive, Red Hulk didn’t leave fans wanting to see more.
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This Was Captain America: Brave New World’s Biggest Mistake
Much of what makes Captain America: Brave New World fall short is in the film’s biggest draw.
Red Hulk Didn’t Blow People Away In Captain America: Brave New World
Red Hulk was a significant part of the marketing for Captain America: Brave New World, with Marvel Studios pushing the fight scene between him and Captain America heavily. However, the reality was that Thaddeus Ross only turned into Red Hulk for a one-off fight scene, and the use of Red Hulk was extremely minimal. The character was interesting, and the CGI was impressive, but the manner in which he was teased and subsequently handled left a lot of people feeling flat after the fact.
Marvel didn’t even give people the entire transformation scene for Red Hulk, which was disappointing to people. Whether that was due to budget reasons is unclear, but those scenes with the Incredible Hulk have always drawn interest to the character because they have driven the human element of the monster at the same time. That didn’t happen with Red Hulk, and it ultimately ended with audiences not talking about him as this incredible character they want to see more from, which is a big reason why a stand-alone Hulk film is no longer needed in the MCU.
Marvel Studios Has Watered Down Hulk
Marvel Studios has massively watered down the Incredible Hulk throughout the MCU, with the character going from one of the scariest and most feared to someone who is often seen as a joke. The decision to humanize Hulk and blend Bruce Banner with the green monster has proven to be a negative decision that Marvel is now fighting impossibly against. The damage has been done to that character, which is now irreversible, which shouldn’t have happened. The inner fight between good and evil and the fact that Banner is the complete opposite is what should have been the focus throughout the MCU, but instead, it has been about making Hulk seem as ordinary as possible.
Captain America: Brave New World had the chance to alter that with Red Hulk by reminding everyone how powerful and impactful the Incredible Hulk can be. However, it fell short of achieving that, which was disappointing. The fact that the movie isn’t performing well hasn’t helped because it hasn’t built up the interest in potentially seeing the Incredible Hulk and Red Hulk fight each other, which could have been the case. Much like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, all Red Hulk did was serve to prove that Marvel doesn’t quite know how to get the best out of these characters. They should be the most feared in the MCU, but that simply isn’t the unfortunate case. That is why people aren’t screaming out for a Hulk film anymore, which used to be a consistent situation.
The Interest In A Hulk Film No Longer Exists With Marvel Cinematic Universe Fans
After so many misfires surrounding the Incredible Hulk, it has reached the point where people are no longer interested in seeing a solo movie based on the character. Whether it’s a Planet Hulk story or something set on Earth, the idea of seeing the Incredible Hulk as the lead on his own is challenging to imagine at this point. The joy was in building up to him becoming angry and turning green, unleashing his powers and the carnage that followed. However, that isn’t the case anymore due to how much Marvel has tweaked the character, and sadly, Red Hulk didn’t do enough to get the conversations surrounding a solo Hulk movie started again. It isn’t a topic that has been reignited, and after this many years, it’s unlikely that it will.
There have been rumors about Hulk having a movie with Wolverine in a similar manner to Deadpool & Wolverine. Whether it would be about creating an unconventional team or if they would be fighting against each other, it proves that Marvel Studios doesn’t have faith in Hulk on his own to lead a project and get people interested in it. It has become clear that the character works best within a team environment when he can bounce off others, and that hasn’t changed. Captain America: Brave New World had the opportunity to drive the idea of Red Hulk fighting Incredible Hulk, but that’s something that didn’t happen, and it’s now unlikely that Marvel will revisit this potential project.
Captain America: Brave New World
- Release Date
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February 14, 2025
- Director
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Julius Onah
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Anthony Mackie
Sam Wilson / Captain America
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Harrison Ford
Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross / Red Hulk
