The rights to the Hulk and other characters related to him are complicated, and they only get more confusing as his cousin, She-Hulk, is getting her own Disney+ TV show, yet Bruce Banner’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is unknown. The MCU has been bringing various characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen since 2008, but due to various situations with the rights to some popular heroes, they can’t appear in the MCU just yet or only under very specific circumstances, as is the case of Hulk.
Bruce Banner’s history on the big screen hasn’t been easy, as he’s a very difficult character to adapt to live-action films. Bruce Banner had his cinematic debut in 2003 in the film simply titled Hulk, directed by Ang Lee and with Eric Bana as the title character. Although Hulk was a box office hit, it didn’t do well with the audience and critics, and it was rebooted five years later. Now titled The Incredible Hulk, the movie was directed by Louis Leterrier and had Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/Hulk. Though this movie is part of the MCU, the character was recast and is now played by Mark Ruffalo, who hasn’t had the chance to star in his own movie – and yet, Bruce’s cousin, Jennifer Walters a.k.a. She-Hulk, is getting her own TV show.
Hulk is trapped in a complicated rights situation, as the character’s distribution rights are with Universal, which gives the studio a lot of power when it comes to potential projects with the Hulk at the front and center. Universal has the right of “first refusal” to any Hulk movie, but there’s one part in the deal that allows Marvel Studios to use the character in its movies as long as they’re not solo adventures – which is why Bruce Banner has only appeared in the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok, where he teamed up with the God of Thunder. Now, given She-Hulk’s clear ties to Banner/Hulk, it’s believed she comes in the package with him and thus her rights are owned by Universal and under the same rules, but her getting a TV show on Disney+ makes everything even more complicated.
It’s not clear who owns She-Hulk’s character rights and what can and can’t be done with it, but as mentioned above, Universal most likely owns them too. It’s possible, then, that the deal doesn’t include TV shows, which makes it possible for her to have her own and therefore would allow Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner to show up at some point. Given that Marvel’s Disney+ TV shows will be an active part of the MCU, unlike Netflix’s shows, She-Hulk will be part of the MCU, though not exactly as fans would have expected. Of course, there’s also the possibility of She-Hulk not being part of the Universal deal, which makes everything much easier for Marvel.
Whatever the case, She-Hulk’s introduction to the MCU through a TV show will surely benefit the character more than a solo movie, given the bad luck Hulk has had on the big screen and the audience’s possible predisposition to not accept another Hulk movie, even if it’s Jennifer Walters on the lead. This also leaves the door open for her inclusion on the movie side of the MCU in the future, depending on what the rights to her character allow Marvel to do in terms of movie appearances.