After trying to bring Hulk to the big screen not once, but twice, Marvel’s plans to give Bruce Banner and his volatile big green alter ego their own film have been placed on the back burner ... for now. But Marvel hasn’t forgotten about Hulk’s solo films entirely because according to ‘The Incredible Hulk’ star Tim Roth, the studio almost brought his villainous character back for an appearance in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’

Mark Ruffalo has been doing such a fantastic job as the Hulk, and as much as we’d love to see Marvel give him his own film, the studio is focusing their energies elsewhere—especially after two underwhelming solo movie attempts. For the time being, we’ll just have to enjoy Ruffalo-Hulk in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and perhaps if and when he makes appearances in other MCU movies.

But according to Tim Roth, who played villain Abomination opposite Edward Norton’s Hulk in the 2008 film ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ Marvel is still definitely thinking about Bruce Banner’s corner of the MCU. In an interview with Crave, Roth revealed that there were plans at one point to bring Abomination back for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’:

They were going to do it. They did do that. They were thinking, in ‘The Avengers 2' or something. There was a movie we could do that at one point, but way back when. It just kind of got swept under the carpet I guess. That would be hilarious.

I don’t know if “hilarious” is the right word for it, but it’s definitely intriguing. Also note that Roth says “way back when,” seemingly indicating that this was a plan Marvel considered years ago, which makes sense given that the studio has been strategically mapping out their franchise plans years in advance.

If Abomination had returned for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ that would mean that Marvel considers the 2008 ‘Incredible Hulk’ film to be a part of current MCU canon—and it’s not as if that film was particularly bad. It just wasn’t quite on the same level as Marvel’s current films, in which our beloved heroes all basically ignore that the 2008 film ever happened. Marvel’s movies all reference each other in little ways, either by acknowledging events from previous/upcoming films or by having heroes crossover into other films. But no one ever acknowledges or discusses the events of ‘The Incredible Hulk.’

Meanwhile, we’ll keep waiting for Marvel to give Hulk his own film again. And while they’re taking requests, how about that Black Widow movie, eh?

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