Every Hulk Who Could Appear In Marvel’s World War Hulk Movie

Marvel Studios is reportedly developing a World War Hulk movie, and here is every Hulk who could appear. The Marvel Cinematic Universe gave Hulk a solo film early on with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, but the character has not taken on a leading role otherwise. This is the result of Universal holding the distribution rights to Hulk solo movies. However, rumors claim this might not be an issue anymore, as there is talk of an MCU World War Hulk film secretly being developed by Marvel Studios. The original comic event known as World War Hulk, written by Greg Pak, came in 2007 as a follow-up to Planet Hulk. It focused on Hulk’s return to Earth and the fury he unleashed upon the planet in response to the Illuminati – Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic, and Black Bolt – banishing him to the distant planet Sakaar. Hulk vows to destroy them all, returning to Earth and fighting just about every major Marvel character in the process. With the release and reveals of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Harrison Ford’s MCU casting as General Ross (aka Red Hulk) for Captain America: New World Order, speculation around an MCU World War Hulk movie has never been higher. Below is a list of all the Hulks the MCU could tap for a World War Hulk movie.

For the uninitiated, World War Hulk is one of the most famous Marvel Comics stories yet to be adapted for the MCU, and was the sequel to Planet Hulk. Marvel Studios hasn’t told the Planet Hulk story verbatim, but it did put an MCU twist on it through Thor: Ragnarok. If the MCU is about to adapt World War Hulk in some form, it could narratively combine it and the 2010 crossover World War Hulks. The latter is responsible for telling the origin of Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk, as its story revolved around the creation of a Hulk army to take over the world. Since General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the Red Hulk, is confirmed to be making an MCU return as Harrison Ford, drawing in some World War Hulks elements feels likely. Whenever the MCU adapts a major comic storyline, whether it be Civil War or Infinity War, changes are always made to fit the shared universe, and it will be the same for World War Hulk. This could mean turning an MCU World War Hulk movie into a massive team-up film filled with different versions of Hulk. There are currently only a few confirmed gamma-powered characters with anger issues in the MCU, but there are plenty of rumors that more are on the way. As a result, here is every Hulk who could appear in Marvel’s future plans for an MCU World War Hulk movie.

Hulk

It’s impossible to imagine an MCU World War Hulk film and not include Bruce Banner’s Hulk. Mark Ruffalo has played Hulk since 2012’s The Avengers and made seven appearances, including post-credits scenes. The most recent part of Hulk’s MCU story saw him become Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame before reverting to Bruce Banner’s human form for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ post-credits (although he was Smart Hulk once more in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law).

These frequent changes to Hulk’s appearance and the Bruce/Hulk dynamic could result from Marvel altering its plans to go the World War Hulk route. Hulk going to Sakaar and returning with his son Skaar in She-Hulk was the clearest indication so far that Marvel is building up to a cinematic rendition of the classic comic story arc. That said, if even a semi-faithful adaptation of the original World War Hulk is coming, then Hulk needs to be back to smashing ways and fully unleashed. World War Hulk saw Hulk at his angriest — a quality Smart Hulk lacks by design.

She-Hulk

A World War Hulk movie from Marvel Studios in Phase 5 would also surely include She-Hulk. Facing classic Marvel villains like Titania and obscure Avengers like Mr. Immortal, Tatiana Maslany’s MCU debut as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk puts another piece on the board for the rumored MCU World War Hulk project. In the World War Hulk comic, Jen attempts to stand up to Bruce but is easily defeated by him. This movie could be the MCU’s chance to pit Hulk against She-Hulk and show which of them is really the strongest. Depending on what plot developments are in store for Hulk, She-Hulk could even take on the lead role in a movie adaptation. If Bruce cannot become Hulk anymore (as was the case in pluralized follow-up World War Hulks), he could end up relying on Jen to use her She-Hulk powers to take a stand against an army of evil Hulk-equivalents like the Abomination. With Jen being more at peace with her role as a superhero in the She-Hulk finale, she’s bound to be involved in a World War Hulk movie regardless of what’s going on with her cousin Bruce.

Red Hulk

With Marvel casting Harrison Ford as General “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk to replace the iconic William Hurt – who has previously played Ross in the MCU since The Incredible Hulk – the cast of Marvel’s World War Hulk movie could include one of the biggest names in movie history. His inclusion wouldn’t be a cheap attempt to cash in on Ford’s megastar status either (not that Disney/Marvel need it). There’s narrative precedent for Ford’s inclusion, as the Marvel Comics story arc World War Hulks was responsible for revealing that “Thunderbolt” Ross was the Red Hulk. Curiously, before William Hurt’s untimely demise, his return as “Thunderbolt” Ross in multiple Phase 3 movies and the start of MCU Phase 4 in Black Widow implied that Marvel already had plans for Red Hulk. With Ford picking up where Hurt left off, World War Hulk could give finally allow the MCU to debut Red Hulk onscreen. Moreover, though the new “Thunderbolt” Ross is only officially slated to appear in Captain America: New World Order (as well as strong Thunderbolts rumors), there’s more evidence to suggest that Red Hulk is coming, as Ross’ current story arc points to Harrison Ford as New World Order‘s villain.

Abomination

Marvel Studios might also be planting the seeds for Abomination to be in a World War Hulk movie. Tim Roth originally appeared as Emil Blonsky in The Incredible Hulk, but he was left out of every subsequent MCU movie in the Infinity Saga. This changed with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which featured a cameo from a redesigned Abomination. Shang-Chi also set up the team-up between Abomination and Wong, who enlisted Blonsky’s help several times and even broke him out of prison in She-Hulk. Aside from Jennifer Walters herself, Abomination underwent the most character development in the Disney+ series. To put Roth’s previously two-dimensional Hulk villain Emil Blonsky through so much growth only to not include Abomination in a World War Hulk movie would feel like an oversight.

Abomination doesn’t seem to be as villainous as before now, and he appears to be handling his rage-related transformations better than both Jen and Bruce, so Abomination could take on a surprising role in a World War Hulk movie. With Abomination being the biggest, baddest, and most scene-stealing of the various Marvel Easter Eggs in She-Hulk, it’s hard to imagine Tim Roth not bagging more interesting roles in the MCU down the line. The comics even saw Red Hulk kill Abomination, which would be quite the fight to see.

Amadeus Cho

A World War Hulk movie could also include Amadeus Cho (possibly played by Park Seo-joon), who is also known as Totally Awesome Hulk or Brawn. Amadeus becomes Hulk in the comics after using nanites to transfer Bruce’s Hulk powers to himself. He originally struggles to control the rage that comes with Hulk but then becomes a member of the Champions. Cho was even the lead of Marvel’s World War Hulk II story after his own visit to Sakaar. Amadeus Cho hasn’t appeared in the MCU so far, but his mother, Helen Cho, was included in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The development of World War Hulk and the time jump following Avengers: Endgame could allow a young Amadeus to be older and ready to become a hero. With Marvel’s Champions roster already beginning to grow in the MCU, it might just be a matter of time for the onscreen debut of the Totally Awesome Hulk.

Skaar

Hulk’s son Skaar, who finally debuted in the She-Hulk finale (played by Will Deusner), could also be involved in a World War Hulk MCU movie. Conceived by Bruce Banner and Queen Caiera the Oldstrong during the Planet Hulk storyline, Skaar didn’t have an active role in the original World War Hulk crossover, only meeting Bruce after the end of “World Breaker Hulk”‘s rampage. However, alongside General “Thunderbolt” Ross, She-Hulk, and Bruce, Skaar has a larger role in World War Hulks. He’s carved his own space in Marvel Comics outside Hulk events too, including his own series in Son of Hulk, as well as being a member of both the Young Avengers and Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. Although not much was revealed by Skaar’s debut in She-Hulk, it’s notable how Hulk’s son sets up many future Marvel movies. Bruce will also no doubt be profoundly impacted by parenthood, so the significance of Skaar’s arrival can’t be overstated regardless of whether the rumored MCU World War Hulk movie happens.

A-Bomb

If Marvel Studios makes a World War Hulk movie, it would also be the perfect place to include Hulk’s usual side-kick, Rick Jones. Although Rick Jones has a long comic history that includes adventures with Mar-Vell, he’s essential to numerous Hulk stories. This includes when the villainous group of Intelligencia led by MODOK and The Leader transformed Rick into a gamma-powered being known as A-Bomb. His time as A-Bomb included fighting Red Hulk and proving to be a worthy match for Ross. A World War Hulk movie could bring such a fight to the big screen. Indeed, while Rick Jones is yet to debut in the MCU, there’s evidence to suggest that Red Hulk is coming, and combined with She-Hulk’s version of Intelligencia mirroring the nefarious group’s comic book schemes, A-Bomb may just feature in the World War Hulk movie.

Could Ed Norton’s Hulk Return?

Thanks to variants and the Multiverse introduced at the end of the MCU’s Phase 3, a World War Hulk movie could very well include Edward Norton’s original Bruce Banner from The Incredible Hulk. Ed Norton’s return to the MCU is not as wildly speculative of an idea as it was just a couple of years ago. In fact, She-Hulk director Kat Coiro revealed that they almost used Norton for Bruce Banner’s long-awaited reunion with Emil Blonsky. As Coiro said in an interview (via The Direct):

Indeed, World War Hulk bringing Edward Norton’s Hulk back into the MCU isn’t exactly far-fetched in the Multiverse Saga. After Spider-Man: No Way Home broke box office records by including Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s respective versions of Peter Parker, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured and immediately killed Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. Meanwhile, the MCU debut of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool are confirmed to be happening in Deadpool 3. Anything is possible when it comes to returning cast members thanks to the multiverse, and it’s probably just a matter of time before Edward Norton reprises his role in the MCU. An Edward Norton Banner return could even help set up a more multiverse-focused World War Hulk movie that thematically tied better into the MCU Phases 4, 5, and 6. In any case, it would be interesting how the two Bruce Banner variants handled their struggle with Gamma radiation, especially since She-Hulk revealed that Bruce uses meditation and awareness techniques to control his transformations – similar to what Edward Norton tried in The Incredible Hulk. If a difference between the two is that what worked for Ruffalo’s Banner failed for Norton’s in a different timeline, pitting them against each other would make for an amazing and satisfying MCU interpretation of the World War Hulk concept.