2008’s The Incredible Hulk has long been regarded as something of an outlier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, due in part to Disney’s lack of involvement and the subsequent departure of Edward Norton from the role of Bruce Banner. Nonetheless, it seems that this less remembered chapter in the Infinity Saga will be getting a callback in the upcoming Disney Plus series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The first live-action Marvel Studios TV show has recently been filming in in Atlanta, Georgia, where a good number of set photos have managed to make their way online. And as Twitter user @MsLizzieHill observed over the weekend, one reveal offered by these unofficial images is a sign for a company called Samson Development.
As some of you may recall, Ty Burrell took on the role of Leonard Samson in The Incredible Hulk. What’s more, the character of Doc Samson has an eventful history in the comics as an ally to Bruce and a hero in his own right.
As it stands, we have little reason to believe that Burrell will be reprising his role after more than a decade of absence from the MCU, suggesting that these Samson Development signs might amount to little more than a fan-pleasing nod to the character. All the same, feel free to speculate that it means something more.
Already, we’ve seen how Marvel Studios is using their recent expansion into television to revisit characters that many fans felt were underused in the movies. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, for instance, looks set to give Daniel Brühl’s Helmut Zemo a lot more screen time than he was given in Captain America: Civil War.
We’ll find out who else is due for a comeback when the show premieres on Disney Plus this August.