8 Filmmakers Who Had "Creative Differences" With Marvel Studios

5. Louis Leterrier

The Incredible Hulk is often thought of as the "forgotten" MCU movie, mainly because it was the least successful at the box office of the franchise by a significant margin and because Ed Norton, who played Bruce Banner/Hulk, was replaced by Mark Ruffalo for the Avengers movies. Not only did he star in the movie, but Norton was also deeply involved in the production side of The Incredible Hulk. Norton did uncredited revisions of the screenplay and assisted director Louis Leterrier with editing the film. That is where problems arouse between Marvel Studios and Norton and Leterrier. Marvel insisted that the film be under two hours and end with a one minute scene featuring Tony Stark, while Norton and Leterrier preferred a 135 minute cut with more flashbacks to Hulk's origin. Of course, Marvel won out and the released version is 112 minutes that includes very little about the Hulk's origin. Upset by this, Norton did minimal promotional appearances for the film and the brunt of the promotion fell on the shoulders of Leterrier despite him also being dissatisfied with the final cut. Although he was a good sport about promoting the film, Leterrier hasn't been invited back to the Marvel Studios clubhouse since. It's doubtful that he would be considered to direct an Incredible Hulk sequel if one ever goes into production anytime soon.