Favreau Talks HULK Recasting. Ruffalo Was Whedon’s First And Only Choice For The New Hulk.

Jon Favreau was once worried about how Marvel’s going to approach their ultimate superhero movie THE AVENGERS. Favreau’s IRON MAN was more tech based, he wondered how that would be able to join other superheroes with more supernatural elements. But IRON MAN will indeed be part of THE AVENGERS, it was evident from Robert Downey Jr.‘s presence this past weekend when the cast were assembled. IGN however wanted to know what Favreau think of Edward Norton replaced by Mark Ruffalo who will now play the new Hulk, considering Favreau himself had to go through the same ordeal when Marvel decided to replace Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in IRON MAN 2…

“It’s tricky,”
“I know Edward, and I dig the guy’s talent tremendously. He’s always been a very great guy… I’m sure that however this comes out, it’s going to be something that’s amenable to both the filmmaker and the studio. I know that we faced the challenge of recasting with Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard, and although I think breaking continuity is always a challenge and should be avoided whenever possible, it is the reality of the movie business that sometimes things don’t work out.”
“I really want to see the Iron Man stuff play out really well through these other movies and hopefully collaborate in the future,”

Spoken like a man who fully understands this industry.. and also spoken like a man who knows no matter how influential of a filmmaker he is now, there’s always somebody more influential, with deeper pocket, who gets to have his say on many things.
Favreau also said that he’s ready and available whenever director Kenneth Branagh (THOR) and Joss Whedon (THE AVENGERS) need his help working their very ambitious projects.

Joss Whedon, the man who gets to helm THE AVENGERS told MTV that no other but Mark Ruffalo can play the new Hulk in his book..

“first and only choice for Bruce Banner.”
“I’m stunned that we landed that, just stunned. He has what I remember loving about the show, that quality of, you just look at him and you go through it with him, he invites you in in a way that [no] other performer has since Bill Bixby. He is a guy who’s been beaten up by life, but not defined by that. That’s what I want from Bruce Banner, is a guy who’s still getting it done, even though he has his problem.”

To me, Hulk is now a lot like Marvel’s very own James Bond, … there can always be a new actor to play Bruce Banner.
When asked why cast Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Whedon said..

“The thing about Hawkeye, he’s got his bows and arrows, you need somebody who’s very very down to earth, who’s very grounded, and who’s going to be the kind of guy who, you see him, and you understand why he likes to be far away from things and then shoot at them,”

THE AVENGERS opens May 4th, 2012