10 Actors Who Were Cruelly Shafted By Franchise Reboots

8. Eric Bana - Hulk

The early 2000s is when superhero movies experienced a surge in popularity. Sure, we€™d seen Batman and Superman on the big screen before, along with lesser-known characters like Spawn or Blade. However, it was the success of X-Men and Spider-Man that led Hollywood to start grabbing multiple characters to adapt each year, especially from Marvel. One of these films was Hulk in 2003. Starring Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, the film followed the origins of the Hulk and Banner learning about his hidden past. Although the film featured plenty of action, director Ang Lee opted for a more cerebral look at the green giant. Lee even told Bana during the production that they were filming a Greek tragedy. Although Bana and the rest of the cast were complemented on their performances, the film itself earned mixed reviews for being too long and too serious, which is ironic considering that many superhero films are opting for a grim and gritty tone these days. The final shot of Bana in Hulk showed him warning soldiers in South America, €œDon€™t make me angry. You wouldn€™t like me when I€™m angry.€ Although a sequel was planned, the production was eventually cancelled when Marvel reacquired the character€™s film rights from Universal. Marvel opted for a reboot and came out with The Incredible Hulk in 2008, which retold his origins in the opening credits. The only connection between Hulk and The Incredible Hulk is Banner€™s time in South America. Bana€™s Banner may not have been as memorable as Patrick Stewart€™s Professor X or Robert Downey Jr.€™s Tony Stark, but he did a decent job with the character. As for what his Hulk is up to these days, it€™s likely he€™s still in the South American forests building his own kingdom and destroying those who stand in his way.