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The Incredible Hulk (2008)

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• The Incredible Hulk joined Toronto's Green-Screen initiative, to help cut carbon emissions and waste created during filming. Edward Norton had fun using a hybrid vehicle on set. Producer Gale Anne Hurd hopes the film will be a symbol of the drive to encourage less pollution from film productions.
  
  
• Louis Leterrier had been interested in directing Iron Man (2008), but when Jon Favreau took that project Avi Arad offered him a sequel to Hulk (2003). In an attempt to depict their comic book films in the same universe, Marvel Studios gave Robert Downey Jr. a cameo as Tony Stark in this film.
  
  
• William Hurt and his son are big fans of the Hulk.
  
  

• Although director Louis Leterrier liked Hulk (2003), he concurred with Marvel Studios that to continue the franchise it would be better to deviate from Ang Lee's cerebral style from the first film and focus on a more action-filled tone. He also believed that in keeping with Hulk (2003)'s poetic feel, the VFX were mostly "a fluorescent-green guy who was simply flying around; he had no weight and was too smooth-looking," so he wished to make the film's VFX grittier and darker "and perhaps even a little scarier!"
  
  
• The Hulk, as portrayed in this film, was created through a blend of animatronics, make-up and CGI (by Rhythm & Hues) with motion capture by the title actor Edward Norton. Hulk (2003)'s VFX were carried out by Industrial Light & Magic, with its director Ang Lee providing motion-capture.
  
  
• Edward Norton, who had previously rewritten films he starred in, wrote a draft of the script which Louis Leterrier and Marvel Studios found satisfactory in establishing the film as a reboot of Hulk (2003). As Norton explained, "I don't think that in great literature/films explaining the story's roots means it comes in the beginning. Audiences know the story, so we're dealing with it artfully." Norton's rewrite added the character of Doc Samson and mentioned references to other Marvel Comics characters. He also wanted to put in "revelations about what set the whole thing in motion" that would be explained in future installments.
  
  
• In the comics, Emil Blonsky was a KGB agent who takes on a scaly reptilian appearance, becoming the Abomination. Louis Leterrier felt that while that was cool, it made no sense considering there was no reptile mix in his origin. So in this film Blonsky's appearance is redefined substantially to have his skin/muscles/bones exaggerated and sticking out all over his body. Leterrier describes Blonsky as "an über-human, just like the Hulk, but a human who was injected with something in the wrong places and these places are growing differently."
  
  
• The VFX artists think of Blonsky as "a guy who transforms but is not used to having these new properties; for instance, he's much heavier, so when he walks down the sidewalk, he's tripping because his weight is destroying the sidewalk."
  
  
• Louis Leterrier directed four units with a broken foot.
  
  
• General Ross mentions that the serum Blonsky uses to become the Abomination was created during World War II. This is a reference to Marvel Comics' next film, The First Avenger: Captain America (2011), who was created with the use of a special serum (very likely the same serum Ross mentions as the label clearly says "Dr. Josef Reinstein" who is responsible for Steve Rogers). Additionally, the person who takes the serum must be treated with a unique form of radiation; any accidents or deviations from the procedure can cause horrific side effects to occur... as befalls Blonsky.
  
  
• It took the VFX artists over a year to construct a shot where Dr. Banner's gamma-irradiated blood falls through three factory stories into a bottle.
  
  
• Two stars of "The Incredible Hulk" (1978) TV series have cameos. Bill Bixby is seen on TV in an episode of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1969), and Lou Ferrigno portrays a security guard and voices the Hulk.
  
  
• After the military/Hulk fight at the university, two students are interviewed on the news - their names are Jack McGee and Jim Wilson. Jack McGee was a tabloid reporter from the Incredible Hulk 70's television show, and Jim Wilson was a character from the Hulk comics
  • a young, orphan boy who became friends with the Hulk, and a sidekick of sorts.
  
  
  
• The ending theme from the "The Incredible Hulk" (1978) TV series plays while Bruce Banner walks down the street in Brazil.
  
  
• Betty Ross buys Bruce some purple pants. In the comics, the Hulk is almost always seen wearing purple pants.
  
  
• The name Nick Fury, in addition to Stark Industries, appears during the opening montage on various documents.
  
  
• Paul Soles who portrays "Stanley", the owner of the pizza shop, provided the voice for Dr. Bruce Banner in the 1960s "Hulk" (1966) animated series. The character's name may also be another tribute to Hulk co-creator Stan Lee.
  
  
• Stan Lee has a cameo as the man who drinks the soft drink contaminated with Bruce Banners blood.
  
  
• When General Ross removes the container of "Super-Soldier Serum" from its storage tank, a label can be seen on the tank with the name "Dr. Reinstein". In the first version of Captain America's origin, it was Dr. Josef Reinstein who created the serum that gave Captain America his powers. This name was later retconned to be a pseudonym for Dr. Abraham Erskine.
  
  
• General Ross mentions that the Hulk has managed to stay unseen for five years. It has been five years between Ang Lee's Hulk (2003) and this film.
  
  
• The Military Base mentioned in the film "Fort Johnson" is named after Kenneth Johnson; the writer, director, and producer of the original "The Incredible Hulk" (1978) television series.
  
  
• Norton wrote a part specifically for Michael K. Williams because he is a big fan of Williams' work on "The Wire" (2002).
  
  
• The package that Banner receives in British Columbia is addressed to "David B." This is a (very sly) reference to a key element of the 1970s television series, where the character's name was changed from Robert Bruce Banner to David Bruce Banner. Specifically, in his travels throughout the series, David would always maintain "David B." (e.g. David Benton, David Bishop) despite having to use a different name in every episode.
  
  
• Tim Roth signed on the film because he was a fan of "The Incredible Hulk" (1978), as well as to please his comic-book-fan sons. On set, he constantly asked whether this would "be a cool shot" for his kids to see him in. He thoroughly enjoyed playing Blonsky, but found it difficult since to portray Blonsky's over-the-hill state he could not work out; but he hired a personal trainer to assist him in motion-capturing the Abomination's movements.
  
  
• Louis Leterrier insisted Tim Roth, of whom he is a big fan, be cast as the film's main antagonist, even though Marvel Studios and Edward Norton were initially unsure of Roth as a supervillain. Leterrier later said "it's great watching a normal Cockney boy become a superhero!"
  
  
• Edward Norton and Tim Roth filmed their Hulk-Abomination fracases on a stage, using motion capture and 37 digital cameras. Roth enjoyed using the motion capture technique because it reminded him of fringe theatre.
  
  
• According to Tim Roth, Edward Norton rewrote scenes every day; Norton and Liv Tyler also spent hours discussing their characters' lives (especially before the Hulk appeared).
  
  

• SPOILER: Tim Blake Nelson's character, Samuel Sterns, gets The Hulk's blood in a wound in his head. His head starts to mutate and then he smiles. This is a foreshadowing of his role in the sequel as the main villain, The Leader.
  
  
• SPOILER: The Hulk's origin has once again been changed from a side-effect of a "Gamma Bomb" explosion (the original story in the comics) to a side-effect of an experimental radiation exposure (as in the pilot the 1978 TV series). Even the equipment used in the experiment is a close match to that used in the TV series, right down to the targeting light sliding onto Banner's face.
  
  

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