Mark Ruffalo has more than proven that you don’t need a solo franchise to be an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the actor becoming a firm fan favorite since replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner for The Avengers, before going on to make the role his own in Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame, as well as Thor: Ragnarok.
However, with Marvel Studios making a conscious effort to cycle out the majority of their Phase One heroes and replace them with a fresh batch of new faces, there’s been speculation that Ruffalo’s time as a key part of the MCU could be drawing to a close. After all, fellow stalwarts Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner have either departed or are taking a backseat, although Chris Hemsworth plans to stick around for a long time yet.
Now, after months of speculation, Ruffalo has finally been confirmed as part of She-Hulk, the upcoming Disney Plus series that will star Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, Bruce’s cousin who ends up joining the family business as a gamma-irradiated superhero. And following yesterday’s reveal that Tim Roth will be boarding the project as well, the 53 year-old took to social media and asked his fans if they’d missed him.
Did you miss the Hulk? https://t.co/O92ffWdSXU
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) December 11, 2020
Ruffalo has always been one of the MCU’s more unsung heroes, playing a valuable supporting role for close to a decade without stealing many of the headlines himself, even though the franchise would be much worse off without him. And while he won’t be the main focus of She-Hulk by any stretch of the imagination, fans will be glad to have him back on their screens regardless.