Hulk Will Not Be Played By Edward Norton in The Avengers

With all the positive casting news this year as it relates to the Marvel properties such as Thor and Captain America, which ultimately will culminate with The Avengers in 2012, news has hit that is being viewed as a major letdown in most circles. Marvel has decided to drop Edward Norton as Bruce Banner (The Hulk) and cast someone new in the role.

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

Norton is a fantastic actor but has a reputation for being difficult to work with and wanting ultimate control over a project. From Marvel’s statement it sounds as though they didn’t feel he would be a fit with an ensemble cast where he would get limited screen time and have little control over the direction of the film.

I really liked Norton in The Incredible Hulk and was looking forward to seeing interacting with the others so this is a disappointing development. It will certainly be interesting to see who Marvel goes with as a replacement. It is possible an announcement could be made at Comic-Con which is now less than two weeks away as that would be the place to make a big splash if there is going to be one.