Marvel Replacing Edward Norton in ‘The Avengers’ - Screen Rant I hope this isn't true. It's a good thing this isn't official.
I dunno about Norton. I'm fine with his acting, but the fact that he came in and hijacked the writing process of TIH speaks of an overinflated ego. As far as the idea of replacing him, I don't like that either; is it too much to ask that we at least have the same actor in the role 2 out of 3 films? I'm all for continuity. Also: I can't see the basic idea of an Avengers movie working anyway, I just think this hurts it more.
Don't know what everyone's so surprised about. We knew Marvel and Norton were going through rough times since not long after TIH came out. His replacement was always a possibility.
Article states now that it is in fact true. The way Feige says it too makes it seem like the reason to nix Norton was because none of the actors wanted to work with him, or vice versa. And since RDJ is the only big name of the bunch, it was up to him. I think it's a shame. I like Norton, I think he's a great actor, and it would have been nice to NOT have yet another actor portray The Hulk. It's getting almost as bad as Batman where any actor can say, Oh yah I played The Hulk at one point. I mean who are they going to choose, George Clooney?
I think this is a terrible idea, and hope they don't even include Bruce Banner if this is the case. Ed Norton is an excellent actor, and I can't think of anyone to replace him that wouldn't be a let down.
Good news in the article is that from the sounds of it will find out who the replacement is at comiccon "We are looking to announce a big name actor who fufills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks" It would make sence to announce it then and also the article confirms that black widow will in fact be in the avengers too(even though she probly would end up in it anyways).
There's a whole lot of 'team player' talk in that press release. Maybe someone wasn't playing nice with the other children?
Norton is one of my favorite actors of his generation, but honestly, the role just didn't really seem to fit his style. He's not really a summer blockbluster kind of actor. Most of his best work has come from lower profile movies. I think this will definately hurt the franchise, but I think Norton and Marvel will both move on and continue to have success.
Maybe Norton was asking too much to be in it? As with most Hulk comics/stories, Banner is hardly in it. It is possible that in the movie, Banner is hardly in it and Marvel didn't want to pay what Norton was asking for such a small role. A movie that features a lot of Banner is fine but if Banner is only in 5 minutes & Norton demands several million, not worth the expense.
All the way back to the big brouhaha over the editing of The Incredible Hulk, I kinda assumed that Norton wasn't going to return to the character, but it's still sad that it's official now, I thought he did a great job. If I had my way (and I usually don't), I'd say just do The Avengers without the Hulk. Whether he was going to take the role of hero or villain, we have plenty of other characters who could fill those slots. My second choice would be to bring Eric Bana back, so we could still at least have the excitement of a previous actor returning to the role. He did a decent job too, and I don't think too many people blame HIM for that version of the Hulk tanking.