Quick update on the situation regarding the new Hulk movie. As we already talked about a few weeks ago, the next Hulk film will NOT be a sequel. It’s a total re-start that pretends the Ang Lee version doesn’t exist. Fair enough… but I was hoping for a sequel myself.
The good folks over at Cinescape give us the following:
Universal isn’t really doing it. It’s going to be done through Marvel (independently, or close too) and it’s called “Incredible Hulk”. Bana is definitely not doing it – his contract was with Universal, and so on – so they’re going to get a new Hulk. They’re not going to be auditioning, but merely ‘going out’ to names. Should’ve guessed. Apparently the following guys could be either in consideration or in talks for the role : Dominic Purcell, Brendan Fraser, Adam Garcia.
You know what… I totally know I’m going to be in the minority here… but I actually like the idea of Brendan Fraser in this thing. I think just as a pure actor he’s often underrated (go see him in “With Honors“).
They’ve already said Incredible Hulk will be more of a “HULK SMASH” film than the last one was, and even though I loved the first one, that news excites me! I think most people are happy about that.
It’s a gutsy move for Marvel to try to re-birth the Hulk’s cinema image. The Hulk is far too important a character in the Marvel Universe to have had such a disputable introduction to cinema. They television series invited less debate about its merit than the movie. There’s no way Stan Lee could let that be true, especially not after the cinematic success of both Spiderman and The X-Men. Arguably, the Hulk matters more to the Marvel Universe than either (or both) of them. I’ll support the project. Also, there’s PLENTY of room to re-tell the story of the “true” origin of the Hulk without trampling on Ang Lee’s version. The comic book’s version of how Bruce Banner got exposed to the gamma radiation that transforms him into the Hulk is a heroic story where Bruce Banner rescues some teens (including Rick Jones – an important Marvel character himself) from a bomb testing site and could not save himself. Bruce’s dad had nothing directly to do with the creation of the Hulk. If Marvel re-tells the story with that new angle, it could come off like a new movie! Again, I’ll be one of the first in line. Without a doubt.
The only really bad thing about Hulk was that Nick Nolte’s Absorbing Man was a horrible villian to pit against someone like Hulk, so the just plain bizarre ending ruined what was an interesting approach. Plus I thought the panel editing was pretty neat.
I salute Marvel for one thing; straight up letting people know they’re actively encouraging the continuing Hollywood cancer of dumbing down movies.
Jesus.
Guess it’s too much to learn lessons from Batman Begins, Spider-Man and Superman Returns.
Idiots.
This news about The Mummy 3 is very disconcerting, the Mummy series had so much potential, Brendan Fraser’s character seemed, to me anyways, to be one of the only legitimate contenders for the Indiana Jones thrown which has been vacant for sometime now, nothing has ever come close to the Indiana Jones movies the way this series did, and there has been alot of pretenders.
Sad news.
nord
Ah yeah, there’s Inkheart, too…you’re right about that, Varun. And the union thing sounds valid too. Good points.
About Mummy 3….it’s true his son is going to be grown up and probably a main focus in the movie, but Fraser’s character will probably be only in his ’40s or ’50s….they’ll make him older than he is, but hardly an “old dude”! Hopefully he and Rachel will be still part of the action.
Bus
Rob is right to a certain extent that he is a WB commodity right now, but he is not OWNED by the studio as rob implies. However, i would note that he is not really in the Mummy 3 as a major role…he is going to just play some old dude….may even die….
Rob—-
Fraser has some great roles come up alot of them are indie but i will direct you to Journey 3-D which is DEFINITELY NOT an indie film and Inkheart which is New Line Cinema (not their indie devision..i forget the name of that one) so it should be a pretty large film.
I think you might be stuck on the old studio days when people bough bound contracts to certain studios for X picture deals…now the unions wont allow that sort of control.
first hulk movie rocked.
this new approach is sad news.
eric banna was born to play the roll too.
still, it will be cool to have the Hulk back on the big screen soon.
P.S. Forgot to mention Simply Halston, for which Fraser reportedly just signed on for the lead. He is a busy guy these days.
Rob, it confounds me why Warner Bros. would do that to Fraser. If they decided against him for Superman (their decision, not his) and Looney Tunes did badly, then why would they keep him imprisoned in such a deal? And themselves as well, since they must pay him without allowing him to work for them? Generally, I would think that occurs only when the artist refuses to fulfill their side of the bargain.
Might you have any links? I’d like to read more on this, if possible.
He did also state a strong intention to slow down his career and devote time to his family while they were young, which he has certainly been doing. So I do think a combination of circumstances factored into his situation.
At any rate, his career has certainly picked up, with starring roles in The Last Time, Journey to the End of the Night, and The Air I Breathe all filmed in the last few months. All indies I believe, but good strong parts, and he has a key role in them. And he is now filming Journey 3-D, in which he also stars, and which may be a major studio release (I have to check on that.) And The Mummy 3 isn’t dead….in fact, a recent article claims otherwise:
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060627-095614-3656r
“Stars commit to ‘Mummy 3′
LOS ANGELES, June 27 (UPI) — London-born actress Rachel Weisz and U.S. actor Brendan Fraser have agreed to reprise their roles for the newest installment in the “Mummy” film series.
Moviehole.net reports that the leads from the first two films will star in “The Mummy 3,” although actor Arnold Vosloo will not reprise his role as the film’s title character.
The new film will therefore feature a new villain, the vengeful remains of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shihuang, who will do battle with the film’s stars.
Set years after the series’ last film, “The Mummy Returns,” the new film will focus on a new hero as well, Fraser and Weisz characters’ grown-up son.
The director of the first two films, Stephen Sommers, likely will not helm the third film, the Web site said.”
In any case, Brendan Fraser is a fantastic actor with amazing versatility and range, and his career is far from over. He is a fine dramatic performer, as anyone familiar with his whole repertoire knows. He could succeed in the dramatic aspects of a Hulk film with no problem. However, I do believe he should think twice about it. Chances are, it would just reinforce the misconception that he only does “cartoon” or action-hero type roles.
John I’ve finally cracked and have to agree with some of the people on here. You have some of the quirkiest, weird damn taste in film I’ve ever ever come across. I have no idea how this blog got successful if that’s what you truly think. but perhaps it’s because of those opinions that it got this way.
Brendan Frasier in no way is even close to a Hulk. Jesus Christ.
I liked you a lot until now. Now you’ve made me sad, sir. I’d thrown in a Canadian reference, too, but that seems like a lot of work for this.
I loved the Hulk. Not a reader of the comics though.
Origin stories put me off superhero movies, especially when they remake a movie and do the origin again. Sure, when they really screw it up I’m sure the fans want it changed. However all that happens is another group of “creative visionaries” screw it up a different way.
Audiences also get turned off. Who wants to see another movie about a dweeb learning to use his new abilities? “Boo hoo, poor me, I’ve got superpowers.” Give us some action.
When they film the Olympics they don’t show us training videos instead of the events themselves. Not that I know as I don’t watch the Olympics.
X-Men didn’t spend the movie giving us the origin of every character and was better for it.
Darren ,
He was a minor character in Crash (an independant film) Thats it. There is no Mummy 3. That project was dead and gone once Warner bougt him out. Its not that he lost a role, its just the deal he signed with Warners prevents him from taking other roles even if they don’t use him. Which is why he hasn’t started in a major Hollywood film since 2001.
I don’t think I’d like to see a re-telling of the origin story either (though I HATED the way Ang Lee did it, with the screen basically going black once the gamma ray fired). Show that moment in a flashback and just jump into the new story.
And give the Hulk a villain he can go knock-down, drag-out brawling with!
*spider bite
Ang lee’s Hulk is a piece of crap, one thing is trying to be diferent, the other is telling a complete diferent origin for a super-hero.
wtf?? “oh let’s just forget all that gamma radiation things and put it like a decease or something like that”
I surely understand the fans who say this film suck.
Just imagine if Sam Raimi decided to take the spider bit out off the spider-man movie, what you’re feeling now is what hulk fans feel when they saw Hulk.
Forgive my english
I loved the last Hulk… and I loved Eric Bana in it… I don’t think it has to be redone, or if they’re going to redo it, do it with Bana.
Oh, Rob:
Fraser will be back in Mummy 3, and he was part of last year’s ‘Crash’ ensemble. He is still very much around, and losing a role never kills anyone’s career. It’s just choosing and getting the bad ones.
Martin UK said it best. All that praise for the script, praise for Ang Lee…and I didn’t think Hulk was that bad. The only thing that irritated me was the ‘panel angles’ which were gutsy but distracting.
As for this news…this is news?
Universal is the “distributor” only. Marv is footing the bill. Old news.
Names brandied about? Why not Bill Paxton or David Duchovony- actors they looked at before Bana? And yeah – why not Steve Buscemi?
No, I think this is a huge misstep. Recast if they must, but it should not “retell” an orgin story. Oh no- it must be 100% like like the comics! Give me a break. Just move on and let Hulk smash.
Oh, better yet, just throw it all in the dumper and hire Trish Status or Kelly Jacobs.
She-Hulk! She-Hulk!
That’s what we really want!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Fuck Marvel. This is a dumb move. They weren’t happy with the first one? Tough shit. They read the script, they hired Ang Lee, they knew exactly what they were getting. This is pandering to the kids. If they want to go retarded with it then that’s fine, but why bother retelling the origin? Why not just jump in and have him be smashing stuff from the start? Again, they’re doing it so that the kiddies will understand. They want the kiddies to see a self-contained movie and have everything drawn out for them in crayon.
Marvel are being complete whores because they want more ridiculous Spider-man money. They are not doing this for the fans. Imagine if Batman Begins made shit money at the box office (it’s just as dark and just as long) and then DC decided to retell it with more fighting and a different cast. That’s how pissed off this makes me. I actually think Hulk is a better movie.
Brendan Fraser’s a good actor (Gods and Monsters rules) but Bana knocked it out of the park already.
Dominic Purcell as the bomb in JOHN DOE yo!!!!
After Warner’s basically ruined Fraiser’s career over playing Superman*, would he be really sign up for another Superhero role? I think he could do a good Banner but doubt he would take the role.
* They brought him in from Universal for a four movie 6 year exclusive deal in order to secure him for Superman. When they decide to not use him in Superman and Loony Tunes BIA bombed, they decided to not use him in anything and he’s been stuck for the past 4 years. Unable to go to another studio to play lead. All he could do is minor parts in independant films. Sure he got paid a large fee but his career was taking off and he hasn’t been in any role of any significants since The Quiet American in 2001!
The first HUlk movie was boring in some places in the non-hulked out scenes but when he hulked out the movie improved alot. I just want to see the guy smash things.
For thi smovie what i think they should do is do a origin-story, the jump forward in time a couple of years.
Most of the time I can understand where other people are coming from, but I have no clue how anybody could like the first Hulk flick. That movie was the biggest load of pig crap in history.
It’s bad enough when a movie is ridiculously fucking stupid; it’s even worse when it pretends that it’s really smart.
If the Hulk movie were a person, he’d be that douchebag who has a grade school education, but uses words like ‘pedantic’.
Lee’s Hulk was an interesting but ultimately failed approach. Banner was a cypher in the movie and if you can’t relate to him its game over. The Hulk dogs were incredibly bad as well – looked like a Scooby/Scrappy Doo lovefest.
Dominic Purcell, I just know what he does in Prison Break, and by that I think he can make a good hulk.
Brendan Fraser or Adam Garcia, please god no.
As is said in “the ultimates”, the one person who would do an outstanding Banner is Steve Buscemi.
I’m not a very happy camper about this. I loved the Hulk. Sure it was a bit artsy with the editing and the double screens, and some of the comic booky effects, but I liked the story, and the acting. And I feel that it was misjudged by the comic book community because it actually tried to be original with it’s origin and try something different, which I guess is a sin in the comic book world (was Alfred letting Vicky Vale in the batcave really THAT big of a deal?)
But you know what? I don’t care whether or not anyone else loved it or hated it, and neither should it’s makers. They did what they felt was best for THEIR movie, and they put it out they way THEY wanted to, and if people didn’t like it, TOUGH, they could have just went on to the next film.
But anyways, I was kinda wishing for a sequal, with Bana. I mean, we’ve already seen an origin movie of this guy, do we really need another? I was kinda hoping for a story, with more action I suppose, that picked up with Hulk on the run, going place to place, with a new situation, and maybe we’ll get that..but I have a feeling that they re going to do another origin tale since it is a doeover.
I propose George Clooney as Bruce Banner
Just spray paint Jack Black green:)
Brendan Fraser? john i dont really think he could pull this off, id have to go with
Dominic Purcell. ive seen him in blade 3, which wasnt the best movie in the world, but he was good in the film, a two sideded person, like the huk
I liked the “Hulk” too. It was a very interesting approach and I thought the casting was fantastic. I wish Bana would continue his role though.
The three names mentioned are laughable though.
I’m glad they are restarting it. Simply put, the last one really sucked.
btw, here is Donofrio…
http://home.broadpark.no/~iberg/thehulk.jpg
Haha, Steva Buschemi as the hulk… That’d be hillarius. and OFCAUSE CGI the hulk.
Bah, forget pretty boys, Steve Buschemi is Bruce Banner baby!!! and CGI the Hulk, case closed NEXT!!
nord
Brendan Fraser is an amazing actor really…School Ties was the first movie to actually make me cry (and I didnt even gasp when Norton killed a man in American History X)
They dont need computer graphics in the new hulk, just bring in Lou Ferrigno, spraypaint him green, and make him throw cardbordbox-skyskrapers around (or not).
I thought it would be fun if Lou Ferrigno did a cameo in the incredible hulk… but to my supprise he already did in “The Hulk” (2003) AND I DIDN’T NOTICE?! what? maby I fell asleap… or I just forgot I saw it… IMDB Lou Ferrigno “Hulk (2003) …. Security Guard”
-Merola
Brendan………………………………Fraser?
I was watching Thumbsucker the other day and noticed how much, in some shots Vincent Donofrio looks like the hulk when he goes green. I know Bruce Banner never really looked like his Hulk form, but still just an interesting thought I had, to have him play Bruce Banner. Good actor too.
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/4777/Events/4777/VincentDOn_Grani_8742796_400.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=D%27Onofrio,%20Vincent%20(I)