With Mark Ruffalo set to play Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers, and rumours that this could possibly lead to more solo outings for the Marvel character, it’s slightly unexpected news that Marvel and US TV network ABC are working on bringing Hulk back to TV.
Both Deadline and THR report on the news, saying that the project is in the very early stages, but the idea is to bring the character back to television with a live-action series. Presumably any TV incarnation would run completely separate to what Marvel is doing with Hulk on the big screen with The Avengers. And if it does happen, it’ll mean we’ll get four different live-action incarnation of Bruce Banner in less than ten years (Eric Bana, Ed Norton, Mark Ruffalo and whoever takes on the role in the TV series), which seems rather ridiculous. Indeed, with the difficulties they’ve faced launching Hulk on the big screen, this new idea could dilute and confuse the character even further.
One of the problems they’ve had rebooting the character for the screen is the old 1970s TV series, which was a far cry from the mythology of The Hulk in the comics, but has become indelibly printed on the popular imagination. Trying to meld those two sides is one of the problems the new films have faced, as it’s virtually impossible to please and meet the expectations of both rabid comic fans and those who only know Hulk from the Bill Bixby series.
The proposed TV show is part of Marvel’s plans to try and push into primetime TV, with the company’s new owners, Disney, looking for ways it can use the thousands of characters in its ABC TV division. Whether it’ll actually happen is yet to be seen, as currently it’s just one of several possibilities Marvel is looking at for a possible TV crossover (THR has a list of other characters that make show up on television).