HULK Sequel May Join Forces With GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

By Adam Holmes on Tuesday, July 1st, 2014

It’s no secret that Marvel doesn’t know what to do with The Hulk in their films. Although The Incredible Hulk earned decent reviews, it didn’t earn as much money as they’d hoped, and our favorite green giant has been limited to Avengers films since. Many have hoped that Phase 3 will give a Hulk solo film, especially given Mark Ruffalo is signed on for more films.

One storyline in particular that has been speculated is an adaptation of Planet Hulk, which saw Hulk launched off Earth by the Illuminati and ending up on a planet full of alien gladiators. However, in a recent interview with MTV, Ruffalo denied this would work on film.

I don’t think [‘Planet Hulk’] is the way to go yet. I think you need more Banner. The whole thing is just him as Hulk, on a planet, fighting other gladiators.

Well, Hulk throwing down in the arena with alien warriors may not be an option, but if a follow-up article from Hitfix is true, Hulk being sent into space isn’t that farfetched. Writer Drew McWeeny has released information on Bruce Banner’s status quo by the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. While there’s not too much specific tidbits here, I’ll nevertheless post that there are SPOILERS AHEAD.

Without giving away why and how, let’s look at the state of things for Bruce Banner at the end of “Age Of Ultron.” Banner continues to play a key role in things in this movie, and when the final war with Ultron spills onto the battlefield and out of the virtual realm, he has a major part to play. Unfortunately, that ends with him onboard a Quin jet on his way off the planet, with no way to immediately turn things around. He’s going to have to ride out the trip. It’s pre-programmed and he can’t stop it.

McWeeny goes on to speculate that Banner’s ship will eventually take him to where the Guardian of the Galaxy are. Meeting this rag-tag group of misfits, they’ll have a film adventure together, and then get Banner back to Earth, which will lead into Avengers 3. I’ll take it a step further and guess that the Guardians will team up with Hulk and the Avengers against Thanos in the climactic film. Keep in mind all of this is still just a rumor, but I am pumped!

Not to toot my own horn, but I suspected Marvel would do something like this. They like Bruce Banner and The Hulk, but they don’t want to do anything with his supporting cast. So, if you can’t use any other Hulk characters, the best alternative is to him in a new environment, and Planet Hulk is a great story to draw from, albeit with some alterations since they’d need to include Banner somehow and get rid of the alien gladiators.

This also solves another problem: what to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy post-Phase 2. Look, Marvel has been marketing the hell out of this film, so financially it will do well, and even with its inherent weirdness, I think will do well critically. Naturally, Marvel will want to put out a sequel, but how can they top what they did before? Easy, just add Hulk to the recipe. We get more wacky alien adventures, more time for Bruce Banner and the Hulk to shine and a better connection between what’s happening on Earth and around the rest of the galaxy. It all works out, and we get some kick-ass action along with it. Plus, I’m sure the conversations Hulk and Groot would have together with be very intellectually stimulating.

The only thing that would be better than this is if Hawkeye teamed up with aliens. A guy with a bow and arrow fighting in outer space. It sounds awesome, right? RIGHT? …I feel like I’m the only one who wants this.