Last year, Latino-Review reported that the "Planet Hulk" comic book storyline would soon be stomping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (In the comic book, the Hulk is banished from Earth and winds up on a fearsome world, following a "Conan"-style trajectory from gladiatorial warrior to ruler of the planet.) The rumors were debunked, but late last month, Hitfix teased a potential "Guardians of the Galaxy" sequel that would also feature "Planet Hulk"-style story elements (head to that site for the full, potentially spoilery details). Well, we recently spoke to "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer/director James Gunn, and he set the record straight on both counts.
When we asked him about the rumors of the Hulk joining up with the Guardians of the Galaxy (which include Chris Pratt‘s Star Lord, Zoe Saldana‘s Gamora, and a talking, trigger-happy raccoon named Rocket voiced by Bradley Cooper), he gave us the unvarnished truth: "I can answer that question very easily: it is absolute, 100% bullshit," he said, adding: "It feels like a great relief to finally say this after all the dumb stuff on the Internet."
"There’s not going to be a ‘Planet Hulk’ movie, there was never going to be a ‘Planet Hulk’ movie, there was never a plan for the Hulk to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy – I wouldn’t want the Hulk to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy! And it’s all a bunch of complete bullshit," Gunn continued.
When we joked that his "complete bullshit" comment would be the title of our news piece, Gunn didn’t back down. "That is fine. I love it. I’m so sick of it," Gunn said. He then went on to address one of the reasons the rumors could have persisted (minor spoilers ahead for "Guardians of the Galaxy"). "The whole thing is, there’s Sakaraan in the movie. And the reason there’s Sakaraan in the movie is because there aren’t that many alien races in the Marvel Universe, and of those prominent alien races, such as the Kree and the Skrull," Gunn added, somewhat tantalizingly, "I have some very specific ideas for where those races go."
He then went on to explain the nuts-and-bolts reason for the Sakaraan being in the movie. "The reason we picked the Sakaraan is because we don’t own Badoon. In the script it originally said Badoon," Gunn said. "So you can blame search and replace for changing Badoon to Sakaaran and leading to the whole ‘Planet Hulk’ conspiracy."
So, there you have it. "Guardians Of The Galaxy" opens on August 1st.