Fans are very familiar with the fact that the Spider-Man movie rights belong to Sony, not Marvel. But they might be surprised to learn that Spider-Man isn’t the only staple of the MCU who doesn’t fully belong to Marvel, as Marvel also doesn’t hold the distribution rights to solo Hulk movies.
The right issue comes with an important caveat. Marvel doesn’t own the rights to stand-alone Hulk stories, but the deal allows Marvel Studios to use the character as it wishes, as long as it’s not in a solo adventure. This explains why Bruce Banner has appeared in all Avengers movies as well as Thor: Ragnarok, with substantial roles in all, but the Mark Ruffalo version of the character has yet to star in a solo movie. Even if Marvel Studios wanted to give him a stand-alone movie, they can’t. Universal is the one that decides that.
It’s not all as straightforward as it seems, however. The original deal signed with Universal followed pretty much the same parameters the Spider-Man deal with Sony did. This means that, in 2006, Marvel Studios reported got the cinematic rights to the Hulk character, after Universal failed to produce a sequel to 2003’s Hulk. But unlike the Sony deal, this one has a clause that allowed Universal to retain distribution rights to future Hulk movies, or at least the right to first refusal on distribution. This puts Marvel in a very delicate position if it were to attempt a solo movie.
This feels very familiar to the position Marvel is in with Sony in regard to Spider-Man, but the deal with Sony is much clearer on the specifics. The option Universal retains basically means Marvel Studios doing all the work and Universal potentially getting most of the rewards. Disney has, however, proven they’re willing to reach a deal before, and the fact that no negotiation has even been reported could point to a decision on the part of the studio to hold off on a possible solo Hulk movie. Or, perhaps, it’s a matter of timing – or priorities.
Bruce Banner isn’t as popular a character as Peter Parker, so it makes sense that the fight for Spider-Man to remain part of the MCU has taken a lot more of the spotlight. This is particularly true because, in the case of Spider-Man, both Sony and Marvel have, at various points, commented on the deal, and Spider-Man star Tom Holland even got involved in the negotiations. But that doesn’t mean Marvel wouldn’t love to have the movie distribution rights to the Hulk – or that the character isn’t important for them. Viewers are, after all, getting what is basically a spin-off Hulk series, She-Hulk, on Disney+. And there are plenty of possible Hulk storylines Marvel could adapt, especially with the character already established.
Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk and 2008’s The Incredible Hulk – which is technically part of the MCU, even if most fans choose to ignore it – did a lot to set up the backstory of the character. In fact, they did enough that Marvel felt they could ignore the need for an origin story when they brought in Mark Ruffalo during The Avengers. But the general awareness of the character also helped, and that can probably be laid at the feet of Lou Ferrigno, who played the character in The Incredible Hulk tv series. The show ran from 1977 to 1982, and made the Hulk, not a very popular comic book character, into a household name.
This all leads us to the present, and a character that already has an established fanbase and a beloved star attached, and yet one Marvel Studios can’t pursue. Mark Ruffalo would clearly love to do a Hulk stand-alone film. If Marvel doesn’t seem in a hurry to move ahead with it or to try to negotiate with Universal, it might be that some negotiations have already taken place, and fallen through. Or it might just be that, despite the pros listed above, Hulk is still seen as too expensive a risk to take. A Hulk movie would, after all, require a lot of CGI, which means a higher budget.
But with Disney+ going ahead with a She-Hulk series, it’s hard to argue that Marvel is truly against the character, or the possibility of bringing Hulk, or in this case She-Hulk, to the screen. Of course, the rights issue remains a bit clouded when it comes to She-Hulk. Was she part of the original deal with Universal? Is she coming to Disney+ solely because the deal doesn’t extend to movies? Could she, one day, have her own solo movie?
All of these are valid questions with no clear answer, just as the question of whether the world will ever get another Hulk solo film remains up in the air. But if the She-Hulk series brings a new interest in the property, a deal with Universal could still be a possibility. Fans shouldn’t count on it, but stranger things have happened. Spider-Man is in the MCU, and there’ll soon be another Fantastic Four movie, and possibly more X-Men. Why couldn’t the Hulk follow in their footsteps?