Michael K. Williams Deleted Incredible Hulk Cameo Explained

Michael K. Williams has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in The Incredible Hulk; however, he was originally set to appear in a bigger scene with the Hulk and The Abomination. The Emmy-nominated actor tragically passed away earlier this month, leaving behind an impressive body of work including roles in HBO shows The Wire and Boardwalk Empire, as well as supporting roles in movies 12 Years a Slave and Gone Baby Gone among many others. His part in The Incredible Hulk however ended up almost completely on the cutting room floor.

The Incredible Hulk was the second installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, arriving just one month after Iron Man in the summer of 2008. Starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, the film attempted to capture the feel of the 1970’s/80’s TV show and distance itself from the 2003 film, Hulk. However, the film received mixed reviews and middling box office compared to its budget and was quickly overshadowed by other installments in The Infinity Saga.

In the finale of the movie antagonist Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) has transformed into the Abomination and begins rampaging through Harlem. In the chaos, Williams (credited as ‘Harlem Bystander’) runs out of a shop and witnesses the monster throwing cars, one of which lands beside him. His inclusion is a total of three shots amounting to four seconds of screentime and easily missed within the noise and destruction onscreen. However, according to a 2014 interview with the actor (via CinemaBlend), he explains that he was in another scene where he got caught between Abomination and the Hulk and tried to stop them from destroying Harlem.

“I come out the building. You know, I scream. And then I'm running with everybody else and then all of a sudden, I get stuck between the Hulk and the Abomination. And I'm like, 'Holy shit, what am I going to do? Everybody calm down. Stop messing up my streets. Why don't you got to like Connecticut? And fight over there! Why are you in Harlem?' And then finally the Abomination is getting really mad, and I'm like, 'You know what, Hulk, I don't like him. Go kick his ass!'"

According to Williams, Edward Norton was annoyed the scene was cut, as he wrote and directed it. However, it was one of many scenes in the film (as much as 70 minutes of footage) that was shot but then discarded in order to keep the runtime under 2 hours. In addition to the runtime, another potential reason for its omission could be the cost of further visual effects needed to bring his CGI co-stars to life. Still, there did not appear to be any ill-will from Williams, who had fun working with Norton on the scene. Unfortunately, Williams would have a similar experience on a larger scale later in his career when his portrayal of crime boss Dryden Vos was cut entirely from Solo: A Star Wars Story. In that instance, scheduling conflicts prevented him from returning for reshoots, and fellow MCU alumni Paul Bettany would take over the role, re-filming his already shot scenes.

Michael K. Williams was a talented actor and it’s a shame that his one and only appearance in the MCU was cut short. However Marvel appears to be finally embracing The Incredible Hulk in Phase 4, with call-backs and connections in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and What If...?, as well as the upcoming She-Hulk series on Disney+. If its popularity continues to rise there is always hope that a future home media release could include his deleted scene and give fans a chance to see Michael K. Williams' full performance.

Next: Why She-Hulk Should Bring Back Incredible Hulk's Betty Ross & Samuel Sterns