After Avengers: Age of Ultron, fans wondered what the future holds for some of their favorite Avengers. For many of the heroes, we’ll see them next in Captain America: Civil War. One of those fan-favorites that hasn’t been confirmed as joining that cast is the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo himself doesn’t seem to know for sure, but it’s looking like we just might see him in the 2016 sequel.
In an interview posted by The Daily Beast, Ruffalo says, “I don’t know! I heard a rumor about that the other day. I haven’t seen a script, nobody’s told me, and I don’t have dates. But I can only hope so!” This is far from a confirmation, but he goes on to talk about a conversation he had with Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr.
“I was talking to Robert Downey the other day, and he said, ‘Ruffalo! I heard you’re coming out here,’ and I said, ‘OK! I’ll be there,'” said Ruffalo. If anyone knows what to expect in the forthcoming Civil War, it would be Robert Downey, Jr. As the centerpiece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Downey’s Iron Man is going to appear in the Captain America sequel, possibly as the villain.
Captain America: Civil War is expected to be based on the comic series of the same name wherein, after major destruction resulting in a large number of civilian deaths, the government passes the Superhero Registration Act. The SRA forces each hero to come forward and register his or her identity to receive proper training and licensure, which ensures there won’t be civilian deaths in the future. Iron Man is the figurehead of the SRA, calling on his colleagues to register. Captain America is against registering, and as a result, punches are thrown between the teammates.
Already confirmed for the cast is a who’s who of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Joining Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), fans can expect to see Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Ant-man (Paul Rudd). In addition to the rumored Hulk appearance, you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll see the new Spider-man, as well.
Later in the interview, Ruffalo goes on to talk more about why he chose to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “I like the challenge of it. I like the cultural significance of it, as an art project. It’s crossing into all kinds of cultures, and belief systems, and ideologies. It’s hitting a lot of boxes, and really specialized boxes, too. And ultimately, the messaging of it is pretty good! It has a decency about it. I always feel like this is our modern mythology, in a way. We’ve been doing this since the time we could draw on cave walls. This is our version of it now, but we’re still working out the same stuff–violence, brotherhood, and more.”
Even with the millions of fans that wish he could do nothing but play Bruce Banner, Ruffalo still loves his work on indie films. He says, “But me, I want to be an indie actor. I love doing films like Infinitely Polar Bear and Spotlight. They feed me. And Marvel feeds me and my kids, you know?”
The casting of Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk is one of the best that Marvel’s done. I love the idea of seeing Bruce Banner show up in the next Captain America film, as long as there’s a good reason. At this point, I’m convinced the movie needs to be four hours long to give each character their due. Otherwise, most of those names will be glorified cameos.
Marvel fans will find out soon enough, when Captain America: Civil War is released May 6, 2016.
Oh, and here’s Renner appeasing fans with a question and a snap of some art from the set.
What do you say? What side are you on? #avengers #civilwar #captainamerica #ironman #marvel pic.twitter.com/aKKwuYR9mY
— Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner) June 12, 2015
