With Mark Ruffalo now cast as The Incredible Hulk in Marvel’s The Avengers for Joss Whedon, Edward Norton looks back on the spat surrounding his departure from the project…
We suspect you know the background of this story already, but on the offchance you don't, here's a very quick recap.
When Marvel was putting the cast together for its movie of The Avengers, which Joss Whedon is directing for a summer 2012 release, there was some speculation as to whether Edward Norton would reprise the role of The Incredible Hulk. Norton seemed quite open to the idea, and talks were seemingly ongoing, until Marvel studio president Kevin Feige issued a now-infamous statement, dropping Norton from the project
"Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members," he wrote, to which Norton - to his credit - issued a dignified response. Mark Ruffalo was ultimately cast as the new Hulk in The Avengers movie.
Norton is now doing promotional work on his next movie, Stone, and while quizzing him about that, MTV asked him about his departure from The Avengers movie.
"The thing that was disingenuous about some of the stuff that had gone on is it was a very professional and very respectful business situation," he told MTV. "We really couldn't work it out on a business level, and I know that's disappointing to some people but it's nobody's fault."
He went on to add, "I have no idea why anybody tried to characterize it as anything other than that kind of a decision, which is absolutely what it was."
We've no idea, behind the scenes, just what Edward Norton is like to work with, but again, you can't help but think that he's come out of an unnecessarily public spat a little better than Marvel has.
Here's the MTV story.