Mark Ruffalo isn’t sure the Marvel Cinematic Universe will ever be the same. Over the past year, the MCU has seen box office flops like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.” The latter title became the lowest-grossing Marvel film in history with just $84 million at the domestic box office and $206 million worldwide. The MCU has also been maximizing its output in recent years with an onslaught of Disney+ TV series. In 2022, for example, nine MCU shows and movies have been released. Some fans believe the franchise has become tired.
“I think the expansion into streaming has been really exciting, but the thing about Marvel movies is that you had to wait three years and that created a conundrum,” Ruffalo said when asked by GQ about Marvel’s recent decline in revenue. “These corrections could be really positive things. Will it be the same? I don’t know.”
Ruffalo’s future as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the MCU remains unclear. diverse It was recently clarified that Ruffalo will not be reprising his role in the upcoming Marvel film “Captain America: Brave New World” after the actor flubbed a recent Q&A. He told GQ that whatever his Marvel future holds, it probably won’t include a standalone Hulk movie because it would be too expensive.
“I would love to make a stand-alone Hulk character, but I don’t think that will ever happen,” Ruffalo said. “It’s very expensive if you shoot a full movie, which is why they use structure so sparingly. I priced it myself!”
Ruffalo has also faced criticism over joining the MCU in the first place. He said he “heard a lot from my colleagues” that giving years of your career to Marvel isn’t necessarily the cool thing to do as an actor.
“Sometimes I think it’s a little bit jealous,” he said. “Because I see them running away and doing it.”
He shared a story about an actor who was thinking about joining Marvel, so the two met up so Ruffalo could answer some questions. The actor asked Ruffalo: “You know, man, aren’t you worried that any big directors won’t want to work with you?”
“I’m really proud of it,” Ruffalo said of creating a career for himself that includes several Marvel films and Oscar-nominated projects like “Poor Things.” “I’ve sat in theaters to watch movies that I’ve done with great directors. I’ve also experienced these Marvel movies with the audience and the amount of community and expression… it touched me all the way. It means something to me. I don’t look at it lightly.”
Ruffalo is an Oscar nominee this year in the supporting actor race for his work in “Poor Things.” Head to the GQ website to read Ruffalo’s full profile.