The MCU hasn’t attempted a solo Hulk movie since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which was technically made before the MCU even existed and is hardly referenced anymore. Despite Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal being very popular within the series, it hasn’t ever been on any of their future calendars and it hasn’t been hinted at very much in any of the films. He has however appeared in many of the other characters’ films as a strong supporting role. This has proven to be a very successful move on their part.
Much of this simply due to the nature of the character of the Hulk, especially how they’ve used him within the MCU. In his human form, the Hulk is Bruce Banner. He’s considered one of the greatest minds on Earth, and is commonly used within the series to solve the scientific problems behind the conflicts the Avengers and other characters are facing. In his Hulk form, he’s pure strength. His strength seems to be linked to anger, as does his endurance and durability, as well as his ability to regenerate.
Ultimately, this makes Bruce Banner/Hulk a huge asset to other characters, with more fleshed out and compelling storylines than he has. Banner is a brilliant mind and a problem solver, he’s brains. Hulk is pure strength, he’s a weapon. This is shown throughout multiple of the MCU’s films, starting with his first appearance (after The Incredible Hulk) in 2012’s The Avengers. In that film, he’s brought into the Avengers by Black Widow to track the Tesseract. In their great battle towards the end of the film, Hulk ends up both overpowering villain of the film Loki and also saving Iron Man from falling to his death.
Since then, his most notable role as a very successful supporting character is probably found in Thor: Ragnarok. The third Thor film is a bit of a different one for the MCU, and Hulk really starts to come into his own as a support to the heavy hitter Avengers who headline their own films. He’s funny, and very endearing, but it’s also a different side to the character. The Hulk in this film has been stuck in that form for years, and is incredibly removed from his Bruce Banner form. Portions of the film are spent with Thor trying to remind him of who he is and what’s really important to him. Throughout this, Hulk is really effectively used as a source of humor, in an already very funny film, and then towards the end he kind of ends up saving the day again in Thor’s fight with his sister Hela.
It’s also important to note that, though its production intentions might have been different compared to other MCU films, Hulk’s origin story and solo film kind of pales in comparison to all of the other stories the franchise has given its viewers. Many fans took the time throughout 2020 when everyone was stuck at home, to do a rewatch of the series. Not only was The Incredible Hulk often just not even counted amongst the mix, but when all watched consecutively with all the others it really doesn’t stand out. Even among the origin story films, which tend to be among the weakest due to their need for backstory, it just isn’t as interesting. His backstory and his motive and mission don’t really compare to those of other Avengers like Iron Man and Captain America.
The storylines that come from films with Hulk as a lead would probably have to rely on a lot of other characters to come into the mix for it to fit in with the entertainment value of the series. Otherwise, it’s doubtful that it would fit in with the series. The MCU is designed in a way that all of the films and stories have to intersect and flow together to advance the overarching plot, but the individual characters need their time to develop as well. The ones that stand out as less memorable or good, generally do a poor job of contributing to one or both of those elements. It’s hard to see how the version of Hulk the MCU has could carry that off in his own film.
All of this is not to say that Hulk is by any means a weak character. Though he hasn’t had development and growth within his own group of films, he’s been heavily developed as a character throughout all of his supporting roles. Not every character can have their own massive storyline, or the series would be too overwhelming to make sense of. Many fans already acknowledge worries that it’s becoming too much, as more and more new characters and storylines are announced. Supporting characters are still very important to storyline advancement, and so far the MCU’s treatment of Hulk has been respectful and useful. He’s been able to maintain himself as a character and develop and grow, but it’s an honest representation of his nature. Despite his popularity and many asks for a solo Hulk film, him remaining a secondary character is probably a very smart move if they hope to maintain that authenticity and honest development as well as the momentum of the franchise.
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