It's been said, as recently as two weeks ago by Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige himself, that 'The Avengers' was the Hulk's last chance on the big screen. After two films with two different actors in recent years, another Hulk-centric film isn't on Marvel's mind.

Or is it?

With wildly positive reviews of 'The Avengers' and critical acclaim in particular for Joss Whedon's version of the Hulk (portrayed by Mark Ruffalo), maybe that tide is turning.

The Playlist points out a recent interview in Forbes with Paul Gitter, Marvel Entertainment's President of Consumer Products for North America, in which Gitter talks about the success of the Hulk and how sales of Hulk products are up "in a major way."

Forbes adds:

"If the Hulk’s successful turnaround continues, Gitter says Marvel will 'spin him off to a stand-alone [TV] program next year,' supported by a big budget franchise movie in 2015."

It's excellent news for the big green guy, and for us, too. Ang Lee's Hulk film starring Eric Bana earned a divisive reaction from audiences, while Louis Leterrier's version starring (and partially written by) Edward Norton earned a more positive, but still largely tepid response.

But the reason why the Mark Ruffalo incarnation of the Hulk works so well isn't just because of the actor -- Joss Whedon's writing and direction of the character along with Ruffalo's spot-on performance in 'The Avengers' are what makes this iteration work. Capitalizing on that success is smart, but doing so just because his public image has improved without taking into consideration the how and why of that success is dangerous.

Let's hope Marvel keeps Whedon involved in these plans, or we might have to do a little Hulk smashing of our own.

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