While this year's SDCC may not have been as epic or monumental as some of the previous years editions (2007 when
The Dark Knight's viral campaign went full-swing was incredible), Marvel's panel certainly delivered the goods when they assembled
the entire cast for The Avengers on stage, including the newly-added
Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / The Hulk) and
Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye). The line-up was well-received but came coupled with its fair share of controversies. As we all know,
Edward Norton had Ruffalo's spot before the Fight Club star was ejected from the superhero extravaganza mere weeks before Comic-Con kicked-off. While that does dent the continuity a little, Mark Ruffalo's presence isn't a bad thing at all.
EW's PopWatch recently caught-up with Mark Ruffalo and asked him about his thoughts on replacing Edward Norton...
Im a friend of Eds, and yeah, that wasnt a great way for all that to go down. But the way I see it is that Ed has bequeathed this part to me. I look at it as my generations Hamlet.
Ruffalo also adds that SDCC was a new experience for him, and lining up with a stellar cast at Marvel's panel was a great crash course introduction to what Comic-Con was all about. He says its the closest feeling to being a rock star as an actor, admits he was nervous but understands that comic book fans have very strict feelings towards their beloved characters, and he doesnt take that lightly.
It was very exciting and I realized I had some pretty big shoes to fill. Those were my heroes up there! I was a comic book fan growing up. I loved The Hulk and The Avengers its just strange to be entering that world as an actor. I never would have imagined that before.
Mark also seems to have a clear definition of Bruce Banner in mind, saying that he liked the human aspect of the mighty Hulk's alter-ego during the Bill Bixby series back in the 70's.
Hes a guy struggling with two sides of himself the dark and the light and everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control. I grew up on the Bill Bixby TV series, which I thought was a really nuanced and real human way to look at The Hulk. I like that the part has those qualities.
Others who had voiced-out their opinions on Ruffalo having a gamma-radiation issue include Iron Man director
Jon Favreau and fanboy hero, The Avengers director
Joss Whedon. When asked by
IGN, Favreau gave his honest opinion on the whole Norton-Marvel-Ruffalo angle;
Its tricky I know Edward, and I dig the guys talent tremendously. Hes always been a very great guy Im sure that however this comes out, its going to be something thats amenable to both the filmmaker and the studio. I know that we faced the challenge of recasting with Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard, and although I think breaking continuity is always a challenge and should be avoided whenever possible, it is the reality of the movie business that sometimes things dont work out.
Whedon
recently spoke to MTV at the Saturday night SyFy party and had this to say :
Im stunned that we landed that, just stunned He has what I remember loving about the show, that quality of, you just look at him and you go through it with him, he invites you in in a way that other performer has since Bill Bixby. He is a guy whos been beaten up by life, but not defined by that. Thats what I want from Bruce Banner, is a guy whos still getting it done, even though he has his problem.
Those related to the project seem very enthusiastic about their roles, and while we still have the
Thor and
Captain America hurdles to pass next year, I can't wait to see what Ruffalo has to offer in terms of playing Bruce Banner.