10 Actors Who Were Cruelly Shafted By Franchise Reboots

7. Edward Norton - The Incredible Hulk

Just because you reboot a series doesn€™t mean things will go more smoothly. As mentioned in the previous section, Marvel rebooted the Hulk after the mixed reception the previous film received. The Incredible Hulk featured Banner five years after the lab accident looking for a cure for his condition. Tying into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film ended ambiguously on whether the Hulk would be a hero or menace in his next appearance. Although the film earned better reviews than its predecessor, Marvel put a sequel on hold due to its low box office return, despite many of the actors being contracted for multiple movies. However, Marvel was still interested in keeping the Hulk as an important player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately for Norton, he would not take part in Hulk€™s future development. Despite many fans enjoying his performance, Norton did not reprise his role as Bruce Banner in The Avengers. His replacement Mark Ruffalo was lauded for his portrayal of Banner in The Avengers, and will reprise the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron and future movies. However, the question remains - why Norton didn€™t return? When the recasting was first announced, Marvel said in the press statement they needed an actor €œwho embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.€ This seems to translate to, €œHe wasn€™t a team player.€ It was later revealed that Norton got into a dispute over a writing credit for The Incredible Hulk, which may have led to his dismissal. Either way, we€™ll never know how Norton€™s Banner would have interacted with Earth€™s Mightiest Heroes. Still, given how popular Ruffalo was in the role, perhaps it€™s for the best.