Norton portrayed the unjolly green giant’s alter ego, fugitive scientist
in “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008, but he won’t be reprising the role in
“The Avengers,” the Marvel Studios film planned for summer 2012 that
aspires to bring together all of the company’s hero franchises and
supporting characters into one massive all-star ensemble with
Norton is on the outside looking in now, as made clear by a surprisingly pointed statement from Marvel Studios President
earlier rumor story about Norton’s ejection from the Marvel Universe).
Feige, maybe the most earnest and easygoing executive I’ve ever met in
slapped down the HitFix notion that this was a money-based move and
that that there might be room for negotiation: “We have made the
decision to not bring
factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the
creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.”
Ouch. Norton was going to be a key player — and someone who could certainly hold his own — in a cast led by
Who will play the Hulk? HitFix suggested it would be
some unknown actor and that this would be a huge letdown to Marvel
fans, but that makes it sound like fans and critics went crazy for
Norton in the role. They didn’t. The movie made
Critics were more supportive of Leterrier’s action-savvy take than
Lee’s monster ruminations, but if you look at the tallies on
Metacritic, the scores are actually fairly close, at 61 to 54.
The point may be moot: Fiege made it a point to say
they wouldn’t be casting an unknown, anyway. “We are looking to
announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements,” he said in the
statement, “and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming
weeks.”
So this will probably play out a lot like the replacement of
who was reportedly the highest-paid actor in the “Iron Man” cast and
then was shown the door and replaced by Cheadle. Howard got that high
pay because he was the first one signed to the project, it was the
first Marvel Studios production and Downey’s career was still in
bounce-back mode. He got replaced in part because he didn’t want to
renegotiate, and that became the
Marvel Studios, which delivered its first movie in
2008, is already pretty infamous for its penny-pinching, but according
to insiders, Howard really got kicked out of the franchise because he
was viewed as a problem child by the “Iron Man” team and the studio
leadership. And, yes, there may be a trend here. It seems to me that
Marvel is now like a pro sports team with a salary cap and a low
tolerance for troublemakers — and an even lower tolerance for expensive
troublemakers. But Norton’s agent,
Swardstrom sounded apoplectic in responding to Feige’s comments: “This offensive statement from
our client in a negative light. … This past Wednesday, after several
weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to
terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had
decided to go in another direction with the part. This seemed to us to
be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their
prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings. We
know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this
result, but this is no excuse for Feige’s mean spirited, accusatory
comments. Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking
forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in
the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his. Feige’s
statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory. Mr.
Norton’s talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve
more respect, and so do Marvel’s fans.”
What’s next? Well, no one seemed to mind that Cheadle stepped in as
exile. Right now, to be savagely honest, there is one and only one
irreplacable person in the
life of Marvel: Downey. An Avengers movie with someone other than
Downey in the metal suit won’t fly, but don’t expect picket signs for
the absent Norton.
Feige really couldn’t bring in a total unknown to
play Banner because the movie already has an unproved lead in Hemsworth
(best known, to date, as Captain Kirk’s doomed father in the short
opening sequence of the “Star Trek” reboot) and a still-unproved
commodity in Evans. Tapping a fresh-face actor to play Banner would be
cheaper, sure, but the new guy might get gobbled up in shared scenes
with big-charisma personalities like Downey and Jackson or real-deal,
serious actors like Renner and Cheadle.
So who will take over the green movement from Norton?
who just went into action-hero mode in “Predators,” is mentioned a lot.
And he did attend the premiere of “Iron Man 2,” as did Renner, who at
that time had not been announced as an “Avengers” cast member. Someone
very close to the situation tells me that Brody is not getting the job,
but that could be a smoke screen. (I have a pet theory, by the way,
that Brody is locked in for the role of Ant-Man, but that’s more hunch
than anything else.
Speaking for myself, I’d love to see
and bespectacled Banner — but that might not go over well with the
fanboys.
It’s a pretty wide-open role, really.
We should know very soon — Marvel sources tell me
that the announcement will be any day now and that the new Banner will
almost certainly be part of the studio’s
So this will be three actors in the same role in a span of seven years. That’s not unheard of — three actors played
three different stars between 1992 and 1997 — but the real problem for
Marvel Studios is the industry word of mouth that will start if there
are any more high-profile ousters. If one more hero is kicked to the
curb, you’ll start hearing rumors, fair or not, that Marvel Studios is
the real bad guy.
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