Given that the his role as the Hulk ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper, and you’d probably forgive Eric Bana for being green with envy over the fact that the iconic character has been taken over by a different actor, especially since it was the role that was supposed to shoot him into superstardom.
So forget the comics: Could an Eric Bana v. Ed Norton battle be the real “World War Hulk?”
For shame, the “Munich” star told MTV News. To suggest such a thing would just make him angry (and you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry).
“I can’t wait to see it,” Bana said of the new “Incredible Hulk” film, a total reboot that wipes away the Bana/ Ang Lee version and starts over. “I think it will be amazing.”
In particular (and somewhat weirdly perhaps), Bana’s especially excited about Norton, the actor they got to replace him, he enthused.
“I’m a big fan of Ed’s. I was really thrilled that someone of Ed’s caliber stepped up to play [Hulk] in the sequel,” he said. “It’s great. I’m sure his version will be incredible.”
What about you? Are you juiced for Norton’s “Hulk,” even though we haven’t seen so much as a teaser yet? And, now with the benefit of some perspective, what do you make of Bana’s version? MTV Movies Blog SMASH those who don’t leave comments. Sound off on all things “Hulk” below.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Eric Bana’s Hulk was not entirely a mess up. I really liked him as Bruce Banner but it was just the plot that stuffed the movie up. What fans wanted was Hulk that they see in the comics which the movie did prove a little but the movie did not, however, have a villain to match such a huge monster.
I’m just glad the movie didn’t drive Bana out of Hollywood. Bana is one of the great actors of our day and he showed everyone that he did move on from the beating that Hulk suffered and moved to other great movies especially Munich.
I can’t wait for this Incredible Hulk and see what they could with it as it has a Batman Begins feeling to it with the “improving the mistakes from the previous adaptation(s).
March 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
This is just silly. No hindsight or perspective is needed to see that the Bana Hulk movie was great. Too much plot. People complained about too much plot. Are you kidding me? A movie can either be successful or fail for any number of reasons, but the idea that the Hulk will be fixed by removing story does not have me looking forward to the new one.
Well, that and the first one had a mutant french poodle. Aye me.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Bana is an amazing actor who was put in a bad movie. The first Hulk movie was ok, not too terrible, but an actor can only do so much with that material. Bad script aside, I thought Bana was a wonderful, emotionally mature Hulk, I was excited to think the new movie had him in it… only to be confronted by Norton, who is cute - But Bana is HOT! Did they not watch Munich or Troy before tossing Bana aside?? You could cook eggs on that butt… What were they thinking??
That said, the first movie did suffer from strange character behavior: Connely’s character actually seemed not to like Bana’s Hulk - which is weird right?! He saves her from dogs and then she rats him out to ‘daddy’! If you can’t get the romantic lead woman to love the Hulk, how can you expect the audience to side with and like him? Just one of many flaws in the script that had nothing to do with Bana, Connely or Ang Lee who consistenly make good movies.
I expect that Norton will be ok - he always is - but I think the studios went wrong in imagining that in a few short years they could remake a movie with a completely new cast and no nod to the one before! They really expect someone like me - not a real comic movie fan, but I saw the first one - not to think its a bit silly to remake so soon? I spent the money once to see Bana, i’ll not make that mistake again to see Norton, no matter what the reviews say this time.
They should look at the example of the two Truman Capote movies - the second (no matter if superior) could not escape the shadow of the first.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I agree with the above comment. Eric Bana IS an AMAZING, AMAZING actor who was put in a badly constructed film. Still a big fan of his, he will move on to do bigger and better things. Eric Bana was literally the only good thing in TROY. Having said that, I know Edward Norton will smash it out of the park. Talk about being an expert in DUALITY, can anyone say, PRIMAL FEAR? From the time I first saw that film of his, I was blown away by his talent. So we’ll see how he fares. Can I take a moment to say how blown away I was by IRON MAN? SO impressed with Robert Downey Jr. and the rest of the amazingly talented cast. Jon Favreau smashed it out of the park, and the numbers are in: over 100 million the opening weekend. I’m glad Marvel has finally established and fiananced its own studios and projects. Hopefully we’ll start to see more great comic-book films from them in the future.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Eric Bana/Ang Lee exuded a humanist approach to Hulk/B.Banner. I found their introduction to Hulk enriched with realism as well as vigorous action. I am quite partial to the films which Eric Bana leads. He always delivers genuine sense and sensibility to all his roles. The shear size of the Hulk may have initially baffled me but I quickly accepted it and thereon allowed myself to be engaged by the story.
Though it’s strange to me how $120M garners an entirely different aesthetic as opposed to the initial productions $200M. The companies/parties involved did such a wonderful job why reinvent the wheel completely?
May 18th, 2008 at 3:23 am
Eric Bana is great. The last Hulk movie he was in was not. Ed Norton? Awesome! Hope the next script and production will do him justice.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I felt that the Bana/Ang Hulk was an excellent movie. I see not a lot of people agree, but it had character, plot, and the cg wasn’t bad either (which is very hard to do). I felt like Bana did an excellent job, and so did everyone else. I find myself baffled that the movie didn’t go over well with viewers. And frankly, I was upset to learn that not only was Bana NOT playing Bruce, but that they had changed directors too. I loved The Hulk, and I’m very, very cautious about a “remake/sequel” with different actors and a different director. I’m not going to see it unless my friends convince me that it has done itself justice despite scrapping everything. What, may I ask, did everyone else hate about The Hulk so much?
June 13th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
In the first Hulk movie, BANA did exactly what AngLee required and Anglee did exactly what the script required, a human touch to Hulk. Unfortunately the original Marvel HULK comic fans required something totally different. The same effect that the comic had on readers, a page turning effect, can’t wait to see what happens next, effect. The first HULK lacked the thrill and suspense of the Marvel comic series.