Eric Bana Didn’t Want to Play The Hulk Again After 2003’s Movie

Eric Bana in 2017
Eric Bana in 2017. Photo by Matt Baron/Shutterstock (8811244fw)

During a recent appearance on Marc Maron’s Podcast, Eric Bana decided to open up about being the first actor to bring Marvel’s superhero Bruce Banner/Hulk to the big screen. Bana revealed that it took some convincing for him to accept the role at the time and that he wasn’t interested in returning to it after he finished the project.

Bana starred as the character in Ang Lee’s adaptation from 2003. The movie met with mixed reviews from the critics but ended up being a big box office success. It was one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, earning around $245 million worldwide.

Speaking about the initial pitch, Bana told host Marc Maron that agreeing to make the movie “wasn’t a quick yes” as he didn’t receive enough information about the script. “It’s one of the only films I have done where that was the case. It just wasn’t the type of film that I saw myself doing,” he explained.

Despite the movie being a commercial hit, Bana revealed that he never expected to be offered a sequel or had an interest in making one. “The expectations are not the way they are now. I approached it as a one-off,” he added.

Universal, who owned the rights for the character at the time, reportedly wanted to make a sequel but ended up dropping these plans to make a reboot with Edward Norton in the main role. Norton’s version of the character was also a one-off with Mark Ruffalo taking over for The Avengers and subsequent movies.