Marvel Prez Says ‘Hulk’ Coming Back, But Whether Ed Norton Will Return Remains Unknown; But, ‘Dr. Strange’ Could Come Next

Ugh, we spent longer on this graphic then we did realizing this piece had nothing to it, but we’re here so… Marvel Prez Kevin Feige talked to MTV recently about a number of Marvel properties and the major topic of discussion became “The Incredible Hulk,” which in a way turned out into a mostly whole lot of nothing.

Feige sees the Ed Norton ‘Hulk’ reboot as a tremendous success, despite the fact that Ang Lee’s Hulk was called a bomb and the Hulk-redux only grossed $16.5 million dollars more worldwide (probably about a third of the marketing cost; Ang Lee: $245,360,480, Ed Norton: $261,897,760).

“When we set out to do this, it was a very big deal for us. It was a big deal getting the character back, it was a big deal having it be the second of the films we were going to do ourselves, and we really had two goals in mind. One was to make even a dollar more than the first one did, so we could justify that we had done it from a financial aspect, and the other one was to bring a Hulk to the screen that a broader fanbase could enjoy. The good news is, we accomplished both.”

Apparently making peanuts more is good enough.

“We made more [than the first ‘Hulk’]. We made 3 or maybe 4 million more domestically, and I think 10 or 12 million more internationally. That was one feather and a big deal! Now we have a Hulk that we can be proud of and that is a better match and fits more with the tone of what had been in our comics and what we want him to be in our films going forward.”

Mmmkay, if you say so. Ok, so why all these other announcements, “Iron Man 2,” “Avengers” etc. and no ‘Hulk 2’?

“The truth is that Hulk has had two films in the past five years, and it’s time to give some of the other guys a turn. But certainly what we are doing is suggesting and cross-pollinating the characters between films, and like reading a comic, I’d like to set that expectation that anything can happen — and anyone can pop up — in anybody else’s story.”

Hinting at him in the “Avengers” film, Feige says expect to see the green giant in another film before you see him in his own. And as for Ed Norton coming back? *Crickets* This is what happens when you start blogging about something you haven’t actually read. Lesson sort of learned, argh! Subtitle this one “Marvel Prez Says A Whole Lot Of Nothing About The Incredible Hulk.”

Ok, something… In a separate article with MTV’s Splashpage, Feige tells the bloggers that Dr. Strange might be the next Marvel property announced as a film. Apparently Marvel are very gung-ho on having this magical/mystical character drive his own film, post-‘Avengers.’

“I’d say in the next year, year and a half, as we start putting together our film slate for 2012 and 2013, I would not be shocked if we saw Dr. Strange on those lists. I love the idea of taping into the magical realm of the Marvel Universe, which is fairly significant and hasn’t yet seen life on screen.”

Kind of ironic, considering Ed Norton (who by all accounts, is not coming back or still in dutch with Marvel), modelled his character in “The Illusionist” after Dr. Strange.