It looks like Joss Whedon will follow the lead of Ang Lee and Louis Letterier, and use motion capture to help bring The Hulk to life in “The Avengers.”
Mark Ruffalo confirmed with NY Mag that, “They’re going to do the Avatar stop-action, stop-motion capture. So I’ll actually play the Hulk. That’ll be fun.” Of course, it’s one thing to motion capture a character and another to believably direct it; it remains to be seen if Joss Whedon will be able to smoothly handle what will easily be the most effects-heavy project of his entire career.
As for what me might expect from the character of Bruce Banner, Ruffalo reveals he’ll be somewhat inspired by Bill Bixby’s works in ’70s television series. “I really love the first TV version of it, the Bill Bixby one,” Ruffalo said. “I’m gonna shoot for that a little bit. He was an everyman in it. He’s always on the run and trying to find love. It’s really a sympathetic character, before he turns into the Hulk and fucks everything up.”
We’ll see the results of a mo-capped Mark Ruffalo when “The Avengers” hits theaters on May 4, 2012.