It is official, ladies and gentlemen. Edward Norton will not be reprising his role as that big green guy who smashes stuff in the upcoming movie with all of those other Marvel guys who also had their own movie.
According to Hitfix, Marvel has confirmed what was an unofficial statement that Bruce Banner will be played by a new actor in The Avengers movie scheduled to be released in the summer of 2012.
Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige sent the following statement to Hitfix:
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 as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert (Downey, Jr), Chris (Hemsworth), Chris (Evans), Sam (Jackson), Scarlett (Johansson), and all our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the ionic role in the coming week.”
As was probably expected, many fans were upset with the news that such a prominent character will be recast. The whole idea of Marvel creating these individual movies for their heroes with plans to have them join up for what will truly (see: hopefully) be an epic collaboration of great characters played by the same actors was something that we’ve never seen in cinema before (correct me if I’m wrong). Even though whoever becomes the new Bruce won’t get much screen time due to the CGI Hulk, it would’ve been nice to see the proper continuity between the previous film and this one. But look on the bright side, the third Hulk’s the charm… right?… RIGHT???
