Since “Avengers: Endgame,” it’s clear there would be a “changing of the guard” in the MCU, with new heroes replacing the Avengers whose arcs culminated in that film. In fact, half of the original Avengers are gone at this point, with only Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Thor, and Hawkeye remaining (and Clint Barton is more or less retired). Still, at this point in Phase 4, no new heroes have stepped up to take over the empty spaces Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow left behind. And that’s technically okay: the next two “Avengers” movies aren’t until Phase 6, in 2024-2025. That’s plenty of time for new team members to emerge in Kevin Feige-land.
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But that also makes one wonder: will the remaining Avengers still be around by that point? In an interview with Variety about the new Disney+ show “She-Hulk,” Mark Ruffalo pondered the same question. When asked how long he thinks he’ll play Bruce Banner/Smart Hulk, Ruffalo insisted he has no idea. “I don’t know! I’m always surprised that I’m still here,” he said. “I mean, me and Ed Norton joke that the Hulk is like our generation’s Hamlet — we’re all going to get a shot at it. I keep waiting for the next version of it. I mean, I’ll probably do it as long as they’ll have me, if people are interested, and I can bring something that’s interesting to me to it, and interesting to the fans. But I have no idea.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ruffalo described how his characterization of Banner/The Hulk has evolved over his 12-year span as the superhero. He counts five iterations in all, and perhaps his future as the Bruce Banner involves further evolutions, like ones from the original Marvel comics. “I mean, you know, when you look at the comics, there’s some pretty grizzled, old versions of him,” Ruffalo continued, “I’m like, OK, the 67-year-old Hulk, that would be interesting — if all of us are still here making movies and there’s a world that allows for us to do that anymore. With what we’re living in and heading towards, the future feels more precarious than any other time. So I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. But I hope I’m still around to do it.”
Let’s hope so, too, Mr. Ruffalo, for all of our sakes. Ruffalo obviously has enjoyed his time as Banner over the last dozen years, and he’s up for time as the character as he enters a new phase in both his life and career. “Now I’m in this other stage, where it’s like, the twilight of myself and my career and probably winding down in a way,” Ruffalo said to the interview’s final question. “I feel like the same thing is probably happening for Banner. He’s one of the three that’s left standing, and that’s probably going to, at some point, come to an end as well.”
Ruffalo’s tenure as Banner very well may end soon, perhaps before “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” in 2025. Or perhaps not. After Eric Bana and Norton had their takes on the character, Ruffalo has held onto the Hulk role for a long time. Or perhaps Tatiana Maslany‘s She-Hulk will take over as the new Hulk in the Avengers outfit? It’s one of the many questions to ponder about what Marvel’s future holds. But if Feige and Marvel Studios want Ruffalo to be part of that future, he’ll definitely be there.