Captain America 4 is essentially becoming the MCU’s Incredible Hulk 2 what with all the characters returning, including Betty Ross and The Leader.
The latest casting news for Captain America: New World Order continues to prove the film is moonlighting as The Incredible Hulk 2, a sequel to the Marvel movie from 2008. Given that The Incredible Hulk was co-produced by Marvel Studios and Universal Studios, a sequel has never been officially released. This is largely due in part to the latter studio holding the distribution rights for the character of the Hulk, meaning Marvel Studios have only been able to utilize Hulk in other projects, such as the Avengers movies, Thor: Ragnarok and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
Due to the lack of continuation for the story established in The Incredible Hulk, many elements from that film have gone underutilized in the MCU. Despite the return of Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Civil War, aspects of The Incredible Hulk have been forgotten, especially given the recasting of Bruce Banner from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo. That being said, the news that has been revealed about Phase 5’s upcoming Captain America: New World Order is proving one thing: the film is a secret sequel to The Incredible Hulk.
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3 Incredible Hulk Characters Returning In Captain America 4
The casting news surrounding Captain America: New World Order is the main aspect that makes its sequel status to Incredible Hulk hold merit. In September 2022, Marvel released details about the film at the D23 Expo, including the return of Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns aka The Leader. Samuel Sterns was one of the primary characters of The Incredible Hulk, aiding Bruce Banner by trying to find a cure for Banner’s condition that turns him into the Hulk. The character has not been seen again since that movie, with Captain America: New World Order bringing back Sterns this time as the villainous Leader from Marvel Comics.
Shortly after the announcement of Nelson’s return in Captain America 4, it was also reported that Harrison Ford had been cast as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross after the death of William Hurt, who portrayed the character in his prior MCU appearances. Ford’s role was confirmed not long after, with the actor’s casting hinting that Ross may play a big part in the future of the MCU. Two Incredible Hulk characters returning already solidified Captain America 4 as basically the former’s sequel, but even more casting news was revealed.
Given that Captain America 4 began filming in March 2023, plenty of news began coming out of the film’s various sets. One rumor was that Liv Tyler would be returning to the MCU as Betty Ross, another character who has not appeared since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. This rumor was confirmed by various outlets shortly after the rumors began to circulate, truly proving that Captain America: New World Order would continue the story of The Incredible Hulk in a way no other MCU project thus far has.
How Captain America 4 Continues The Incredible Hulk Story
While the roles of Betty Ross and The Leader in Captain America 4 have largely been kept secret thus far, some details have been revealed about Thunderbolt Ross’ story and how it continues from The Incredible Hulk. Firstly, it is confirmed that Thunderbolt Ross is actually the current President of the United States in the MCU, which makes his clash with Sam Wilson make a lot of sense. Since The Incredible Hulk, Ross’ character has undergone a big change, going from Lieutenant General of the United States Army to the US Secretary of State responsible for the Sokovia Accords to the US President.
In terms of The Leader, Captain America 4 can pay off the hints to Samuel Sterns’ alter ego present in The Incredible Hulk. The latter film showcased Banner and Sterns clashing over their ideologies, with Sterns wanting to further evaluate and test Bruce’s blood for scientific purposes, something Banner disagreed with due to the moral complications and the dangerous nature of gamma radiation. At the end of the film, Sterns was exposed to some of Banner’s blood, which caused his head to mutate.
This hinted at his becoming The Leader, an overwhelmingly intelligent supervillain whose head was deformed from gamma radiation. Given that Sterns has been absent from the MCU for over a decade – both in-universe and in real-time – it will be interesting to see where Sterns’ story has gone since The Incredible Hulk. However, given that he has been confirmed as the main antagonist of Captain America: New World Order, it is clear the supervillain teased in Incredible Hulk will get his time in the spotlight.
Will Hulk & She-Hulk Be In Captain America 4?
Given that so many elements from The Incredible Hulk will be present in Captain America 4, the question of whether the other Hulk characters in the MCU will appear is a valid one. In terms of the Hulk himself, it is unlikely Mark Ruffalo makes an appearance as Bruce Banner despite the obvious links to his character. The last time Hulk was seen in the MCU was in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, with the introduction of Hulk’s son Skaar from Marvel Comics. With the setup of Hulk’s story in the future surrounding Skaar, his inclusion in Captain America 4 seems unlikely as a result.
Similarly, Hulk and Sam Wilson have had little to no direct interactions in the MCU thus far, meaning the latter calling the former for help is unlikely despite the connections to Bruce’s past. When concerning the MCU’s other major Hulk character, Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk is more likely than her cousin Bruce. The sole reason for this comes from Jennifer Walters’ job as a superhuman lawyer, which could call for a fun cameo scene if Sam needs help with anything legal-related to The Leader or Thunderbolt Ross. That being said, neither Bruce nor Jen is too likely to appear in Captain America 4, regardless of the film’s Hulk-centric elements.
Why Marvel Won’t Make The Incredible Hulk 2 Itself
With Marvel utilizing Captain America: New World Order as a secret Incredible Hulk sequel, the question of why Marvel still has not made Incredible Hulk 2 rears its head once again. The main reason for this stems from the aforementioned distribution rights. Universal Studios still holds the rights to distribute movies that utilize the Hulk as the main character. This means that should Marvel Studios produce a Hulk movie, they would need to pay Universal to distribute the film and Universal would have final say on whether it was even distributed in the first place.
This explains why Marvel has only ever used Hulk in other movies since The Incredible Hulk, be it in the Avengers movies, Thor: Ragnarok, or She-Hulk, or the various cameo appearances in other MCU solo films. With She-Hulk further setting up Hulk-related stories, however, such as the inclusion of Skaar, rumor had it that Hulk’s rights have returned to Marvel Studios, though this is yet to be confirmed. With only further evidence of Captain America: New World Order acting as essentially The Incredible Hulk 2 being presented though, it remains just as unlikely that another solo Hulk movie will be produced at Marvel Studios in the near future.
