Many characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have already received their own solo movies, much to an incredible amount of success, but it’s been a long road for Marvel and its surrounding companies. Back in the 90’s, Marvel wasn’t the media titan that it is today.  They were once on their way to financial ruin, even filing for bankruptcy in 1996. In order to counteract their decline they began making a series of licensing deals which gave other companies the rights to use some of Marvel’s major characters, like Spider-Man, in movies and various other media. Presently, Marvel has been able to regain the use of many characters for their movies, most of which have their own time in the spotlight. During Disney’s D23 Expo however, Mark Ruffalo made it clear that the chances of seeing his Hulk as a stand-alone movie are slim, if any.

"A standalone Hulk movie will never happen." – @MarkRuffalo #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/4QrZcoHm6Q

— Variety (@Variety) July 15, 2017

I want to make one thing perfectly clear today. A stand-alone Hulk movie will never happen because Universal has the rights to the stand-alone Hulk movie and, for some reason, they don’t know how to play well with Marvel. And clearly they don’t like money. But I feel like I have two or three years before I’m too old to play the Hulk. We’ve talked about it and I just don’t see it in the cards.”

It’s not as though there is no precedent for a company to own the rights to a movie made by Marvel. Spider-Man recently received his stand-alone film in the MCU, however his movie rights are still owned by Sony. Sadly, at the moment, Universal is not interested in working with Marvel and their Cinematic Universe and so … no Ruffalo Hulk stand-alone movie.

Fans may not be seeing a full on Hulk stand-alone movie with Mark Ruffalo, but there will be chances to see some classic Hulk comics present themselves in the current and future MCU. For example: Thor: Ragnarok will give fans a nod to Hulk’s Planet Hulk armor. The future has yet to be set in stone, perhaps Universal will have a change of heart, only time will tell.

Let us know your thoughts on Ruffalo’s character and the possibility of a Hulk stand-alone film with him center stage in the comments section below. As always, don’t forget to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter for 24/7 coverage of all things gaming and entertainment.