Update: Hitfix got official word, Norton is out. Bit of a shame. Oh well, the whole Marvel films thing isn’t really panning out anyhow, though it did have an auspicious start.
By the time it rolls around in summer 2012, we won’t have ever seen anything like “The Avengers.” Marvel Studios have been working towards it since the summer 2008 release of “Iron Man,” and between that, its sequel, “The Incredible Hulk,” and next summer’s “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” over half a billion dollars have gone into merely laying the seeds for Joss Whedon’s team-up movie, an unprecedented level of path-laying.
For the most part, the stars of those films are locked in to “The Avengers;” Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson have all been assumed to be set, with the supporting players like Don Cheadle and Scarlett Johansson all likely to be on board, and Marvel newcomer Jeremy Renner joining as Hawkeye. One actor who now apparently won’t be joining them? Edward Norton.
The actor’s gone back and forth on the project ever since the release of “The Incredible Hulk,” where by all accounts a rift formed between Norton and Marvel after some post-production interference. Most recently, Norton seemed to be keen on getting involved, but according to HitFix, the current plan is that Norton is out, and that the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk will be recast, with “an unknown” taking the part.
The big problem seems to be one of money; Marvel have been famously stingy with their offers, and Drew McWeeny reports that there was a mutual enthusiasm between Norton and “Avengers” director Joss Whedon, so creative differences don’t seem to be the issue, whereas several references are made in the story to money, and to the issue of someone being “more affordable.”
Our feelings on this are decidedly mixed. On the one hand, Norton’s a terrific actor, and “The Avengers” ensemble would clearly be lesser without him (unless Marvel somehow get Daniel Day-Lewis to take over…). Furthermore, the universe-building that Marvel have put so much effort into is somewhat thwarted if one of the actors is recast.
On the other hand, Louis Letterier’s “The Incredible Hulk” is a bafflingly overrated piece of cinema, one in which Norton gave one of the lesser performances of his career. It’s not really the actor’s fault — Bruce Banner, even more so than Bruce Wayne, is a total non-character, and there’s only so much he could have done with it. While we’re sure he would have been solid in “The Avengers,” the vaguely bland, simmering rage of Banner is almost sure to be overshadowed next to the likes of Downey Jr and Renner, and we’d rather see Norton do something more like “Leaves of Grass” than play a walk-on role in a superhero ensemble.
It’s possible that this is all a negotiating technique, and that come Comic-Con (where McWeeny seems certain an announcement on the project is likely to be made), Norton will be back in the stretchy purple pants. But our gut tells us that Norton’s done with the superhero world, and we’ll see another actor in the part. Hey, what’s Eric Bana up to these days?…
"bafflingly overrated piece of cinema"
As far as I know, even nerds were tepid on this. Is that what passes for overrated now?
It's not about money.
It's about Norton being an insufferable asshole during the making of the Hulk.
There's a reason he's not in many big movies anymore.
He's a colossal pain in the ass. He thinks he knows better than the writer, the director, the DP — no matter the movie he's working on.
People just don't want to deal with it anymore despite his talent.
They have to figure out how to make a Hulk movie hit the Iron Man 1 spot…..but never mind the casting, the writer is more important….how do you write something that's bloated from the start and work this many superheroes, stars and villains into one movie? I'd tell you but it would take 2 years and cost you 10 million and JC's "first dollar gross"….
I like how directly below "Hey, what's Eric Bana up to these days?" is the previous article detailing what Eric Bana is up to these days.
Bummer.
Marvel sucks.
Norton got canned because he's a pain in the ass, why do you think he hasnt been in any big movies in ages? No-one can stand working with the guy.
Too many moving parts to an Avengers movie to have Norton on set and angling to do rewrites and change things all the time, because maybe that semi-works for a Hulk movie or simply gets passed off as "difficult" but that attitude on an ensemble film like Avengers would grind things to an absolute halt.
I like Norton's performances, but if he wants to be THAT controlling and perfectionist rather than letting the director and producers lead, then he just needs to bite the bullet and become a director.