Concept Art from the 1997 ‘Hulk’ Movie That (Thankfully) Never Happened

Ever wanted to see what the Hulk might have looked like had he made his big-screen debut in 1997? Thanks to the rediscovery of some long-lost concept designs and storyboards, you now can get a glimpse at the 'Hulk' movie that never was (and never should have been). Smash after the break to check out a handful of 16-year-old 'Hulk' sketches.

The artist responsible for the following art is Benton Jew, who has worked as both a creature designer and storyboard artist in his career. A couple of years ago, Jew posted some scrapped 'Hulk' designs and sketches from the three 'Hulk' movies he worked on: the 1997 version by Jonathan Hensleigh that never happened; Ang Lee's 2003 version; and Louis Leterrier's 2008 film.

While it's all interesting, what we're most intrigued by is the aborted version prepped by director Jonathan Hensleigh. Jew worked at ILM, and the following artwork was part of their bid to contribute to the project's VFX. At the time, Hensleigh was a highly-successful Hollywood screenwriter, having written 'Die Hard with a Vengeance', 'Jumanji' and 'Armageddon' (well, he was one of a million writers on that last one), and 'Hulk' was to be his directorial debut.

First (courtesy of ComicBookMovie.com) is a look at the Hulk fighting some insect creatures; these guys were apparently radioactive "bug men" that were the result of an experiment gone awry. (Which begs the question: Would mutated bug men have been preferable to gigantic killer doggies?)

Here's a full body drawing:

Finally, an "expression chart" and a color rendering of the big guy's face.

You can check out more unique looks at the Hulk at Benton Jew's blog here. (Just for fun, check out a bizarre "neanderthal" concept of the Hulk below, which Jew designed for Ang Lee's version. Imagine the possibilities.)