Marvel movie man Kevin Feige discusses Hulk changes in The Avengers

On the final day of Comic Con, Marvel’s emerald man-monster Hulk was revealed alongside the rest of the assembled AVENGERS.

The LA Times caught up with Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige and asked about the new image and what sets this latest version of Hulk apart from Ang Lee’s or Louis Leterrier’s green-skinned smash machine.

“We figure he’s been the Hulk now for a few years and [his physique is changing],” Feige says. “He’s not as cut or as ripped as he was in THE INCREDIBLE HULK. The most important thing is that face. As you can already see in that concept painting, it is — more than any Hulk that’s ever been done in live action — a Hulk that let’s you see the actor in there. You will be able to see Ruffalo in there.”

From Feige’s initial comment, you can probably infer that there’s some post-INCREDIBLE Hulk history that will at least be referenced in THE AVENGERS, if not actually shown in a flashback or two (which would be preferred, Mr. Whedon).

But getting back to the Ruffalo resemblance…

“It was something we actively avoided before,” Feige says. “Hulk was Hulk, he’s not any one actor and Hulk should look like Hulk. It was like Iron Man’s armor, in a way, it wouldn’t change depending on the actor wearing it. But we’ve taken a different approach because Hulk is Banner and, frankly, we came to question our approach. Why are we not doing it this way?“

“So we did a few designs that put Ruffalo into it, and we immediately saw how much more you feel for the creature. When you keep that connection going between Banner and the Hulk and you have characters around him trying to reach Banner inside — “Bruce, calm down,” and all of that classic Hulk stuff — it means more if you see the same actor throughout.”