FILM · 2008 · USA
The Incredible Hulk
- Directed by
- Louis Leterrier
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios, Valhalla Motion Pictures, Marvel Entertainment
139 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Scientist Bruce Banner scours the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rage within him: the Hulk. But when the military masterminds who dream of exploiting his powers force him back to civilization, he finds himself coming face to face with a new, deadly foe.
Summary: TMDB
110 Interesting Facts About The Incredible Hulk
- #001
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The post-credits scene featuring General Thunderbolt Ross and Tony Stark serves as a backdoor setup for The Avengers (2012).
- #002
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Although it was cut from the theatrical release, Captain America can be seen in the alternate opening on the DVD and Blu-Ray. Pause when the last block of ice cracks into frame: there, frozen in the ice, lies Cap with his shield.
- #004
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According to Louis Leterrier, the final shot (Banner smirking as his eyes turn green) was deliberately ambiguous. It was meant to show either that Bruce had finally learned to control the Hulk (for a Hulk sequel) or that he would become a threat (as the villain of The Avengers (2012)). Ultimately, the Hulk becomes a team player in The Avengers (2012), and Banner even reveals the secret to staying calm: he is always angry.
- #005
When General Ross retrieves the serum from cold storage, the canister bears not only the name of Dr. Reinstein (the developer of Captain America's super-soldier serum) but also Crysync, the company name, with Stark Industries written beneath it.
- #006
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Captain America: Civil War (2016) marks William Hurt's return as General Thaddeus Ross after an eight-year absence for the character. The Russo brothers, who directed this film, wanted to include Ross because they felt the character had been somewhat forgotten since then.
- #007
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(At about 1 hour 4 minutes in) Betty Ross buys Bruce purple pants. In the comics, the Hulk is almost always shown wearing purple pants.
- #009
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Martin Starr appears briefly in the film as a computer nerd. Nine years later, Starr shows up as a teacher in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). One theory within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that Starr's character in this film is a younger version of his character in the second film, who is working on his degree. This was later confirmed by Kevin Feige, who produced both films and the rest of the MCU.
- #010
Liv Tyler accepted her role without reading the script.
- #011
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(At about the 32-minute mark) According to General Ross, the serum project that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk was developed during World War II. This is a teaser for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), in which the hero is created in the 1940s using a special serum. The recipient of the serum must also undergo a special radiation treatment; any accident or deviation from the procedure can cause horrific side effects, as happened to Banner and Blonsky as well as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull.
- #012
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(At about 1 hour 4 minutes) After the Hulk appears at Culver University, the news interviews two students named Jack McGee and Jim Wilson. Jack McGee was a tabloid reporter who tried to track down the Hulk in the television series The Incredible Hulk (1977), and in the comics Jim Wilson was a young runaway who befriended the Hulk and was the nephew of Sam Wilson/The Falcon.
- #014
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At about one hour and twenty-six minutes, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) gets Hulk's blood into a wound on his head. His head begins to change and then he smiles. This foreshadows his role as the lead villain, the Leader, in a possible sequel.
- #016
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Lou Ferrigno provides a total of six words for the Hulk: "Leave Me Alone", "Hulk Smash" and "Betty".
- #017
Louis Leterrier insisted on casting Tim Roth, of whom he is a big fan, as the film's main antagonist, even though Marvel Studios and Edward Norton were initially unsure that Roth would be the supervillain. Leterrier later said: "It's great watching a normal Cockney boy become a superhero!"
- #018
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This is the only Phase One Marvel Cinematic Universe film in which Nick Fury does not appear. However, his name appears in the opening credits montage at the 2:46 mark (on a S.H.I.E.L.D. page, along with the text Nick Fury, Shield Command, Code RED, New York, NY 060564).
- #019
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The trailer included a scene in which a desperate Bruce Banner comes to the Arctic to kill himself, but it was cut from the film for being too sensitive for young viewers.
- #020
Edward Norton rewrote Zak Penn's script substantially after Penn left to begin work on The Grand (2007). Marvel submitted the screenplay to the Writers Guild under both men's names (Norton using the pseudonym "Edward Harrison"), but the Guild credited only Penn, since Norton had rewritten only Penn's dialogue while keeping Penn's overall plot and structure. Norton was still credited as "Edward Harrison" on some posters.
- #021
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In the final scene, General Ross drinks an "Incredible Hulk" cocktail at the bar. It is made using equal parts Hennessy cognac and Hpnotiq liqueur.
- #022
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At about seven minutes in, it took visual effects artists more than a year to shoot a single shot in which Dr. Banner's blood, exposed to gamma rays, is poured into a bottle across three factory stories.
- #023
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At about thirty-one minutes, in the market scene in Chiapas, the "Lonely Man" theme from the television series The Incredible Hulk (1977), which played as Dr. David Bruce Banner traveled from place to place, can be heard in the score.
- #024
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At about one hour and twenty-five minutes, Zak Penn felt the name "Abomination" sounded too silly, so Emil Blonsky is referred to only by his own name. The word is used once, however, when Samuel Sterns warns Blonsky that mixing Banner's mutated DNA with an injection could make him "could be… an abomination."
- #025
Because Universal has held the rights to "The Incredible Hulk" since the television series The Incredible Hulk (1977), this is the only Phase One Marvel Cinematic Universe film not distributed by Paramount Pictures.
- #026
Sam Elliott wanted to reprise his role as General Ross from Hulk (2003), but William Hurt took the part.
- #027
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In the comics, Emil Blonsky transforms into the Abomination, taking on a scaly reptilian appearance. Louis Leterrier felt that was fine but made no sense given that there is no reptilian element in his origin. So Blonsky's appearance is largely redefined in this film; his skin, muscles and bones are exaggerated and spread throughout his body. Leterrier describes Blonsky as "a super human just like Hulk, but a human who has had something injected in the wrong places and those places grow differently." The visual effects artists think of Blonsky as "a man who transforms but is not used to having these new attributes. For example, he is much heavier, so he stumbles when he walks on the pavement because his weight destroys it."
- #028
Edward Norton, who had rewritten films he starred in before, wrote a draft of the script that Louis Leterrier and Marvel Studios found satisfying enough to establish the film as a reboot of Hulk (2003). As Norton explained, "I don't think in great literature and great films that explaining the roots of the story means that it's the beginning of the story. Audiences know the story, so we deal with it artfully." Norton's rewrite added the character Doc Samson and references to other Marvel Comics characters. He also wanted to include "revelations about what set the whole thing in motion" to be explained in future installments.
- #029
Producer Gale Anne Hurd called the film a "requel" because it was partly a reboot and partly a sequel to Hulk (2003). Although the two films actually take place in different continuities, this film appears to pick up where the 2003 version left off. At the end of the 2003 film, Banner flees the country and travels the world to find a cure for his condition, and this film begins with Banner having been on the run for several years looking for a cure.
- #030
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The Hulk's origin in this film is a combination of the Marvel Ultimates comics (in which Captain America is experimented on with a super-soldier serum) and The Incredible Hulk (1977) (extreme exposure to gamma radiation in an experiment). Even the equipment seen, down to the light sliding across Banner's face, is close to what was used in the television series.
- #031
Edward Norton not only did rewrites but also directed some scenes himself, such as the campus scenes, to save time while Louis Leterrier was busy working with the Second Unit. This is noted in the Director's Commentary on the Blu-ray.
- #034
When the Hulk was first introduced in the comics, Betty Ross was not Bruce Banner's fellow scientist and colleague; she was simply a civilian. She was rewritten as a scientist in Hulk (2003) and in this film. She was likewise later rewritten as a scientist in the comics as well.
- #035
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Tim Roth signed on to the film because he was a fan of The Incredible Hulk (1977) and also to please his sons, who are comic book fans. On set he constantly asked whether there would be a "cool shot" for his children to see. He greatly enjoyed playing Blonsky but found it difficult, since he could not work on portraying Blonsky's state at the top, though he hired a personal trainer to help him capture Abomination's movements.
- #036
For stylistic reasons, the producers chose a darker shade of green than in Hulk (2003) and decided not to make him as large. He stays at a consistent height and does not grow bigger as he becomes angrier.
- #037
Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno are the only people who appear in both Hulk (2003) and this film.
- #038
The Hulk's appearance was based on the drawings of comic book artist Dale Keown, in which "beyond perfect, the Hulk has zero grams of fat, is completely chiseled and defined by his muscles and power, so he's like a tank."
- #039
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(At about 1 hour 40 minutes) Near the end of the film, while hiding in Canada, Banner receives a package addressed to David B. In the Hulk's early issues, Banner's name evolved from David Banner to Bob Banner and finally settled on Bruce Banner. When changes were pointed out in the letters columns, Marvel (and possibly Stan Lee) "explained" that the changes meant his full name was something like David Bob Bruce Banner, and that he preferred Bruce.
- #040
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Contrary to popular belief, this film does not have a post-credits scene. The original theatrical version had one during the credits, but it was changed for the DVD and Blu-ray; the famous scene in which Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) approaches General Ross (William Hurt) is the final scene of the main film and takes place before the credits. Apparently this was the first of two Marvel Cinematic Universe films to contain no post-credits or mid-credits scene. The second is Avengers Endgame (2019).
- #041
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At the start of the film, a brief glimpse appears of Bruce's known colleagues. One of the names shown is that of Rick Jones. In the Incredible Hulk comic book, Rick Jones was an orphan who daringly went onto a weapons test site. Rick was unaware that day that Bruce was testing the gamma bomb, but when the bomb exploded he was saved by Bruce. That sacrifice caused Bruce to become the Hulk. Feeling guilty over what happened, Rick stayed by Bruce's side from that moment on.
- #042
William Hurt based his performance as General Ross on Captain Ahab, the obsessed captain who relentlessly pursues Moby Dick.
- #043
The military base "Fort Johnson" was named after Kenneth Johnson, the writer, director and producer of the television series The Incredible Hulk (1977).
- #044
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In the comics, Abomination had pointed ears. Louis Leterrier wanted this feature to appear in the film but thought the Hulk would bite them off (like Mike Tyson did to Evander Holyfield), which was deemed too intense for a PG-13 film.
- #045
Composer Craig Armstrong collaborated with Louis Leterrier to create the film's score. Marvel Studios was so pleased with the score that it decided to release it as a two-disc soundtrack.
- #047
In Germany the film was cut for a more commercial "Not under 12" rating. However, these cuts were made so clumsily that not only film enthusiasts but ordinary moviegoers noticed them, causing cinema owners to receive numerous complaints. To apologize for this, some cinemas handed out free movie tickets to complaining customers. In addition, many cinemas, including some of Germany's largest chains, posted warning messages on their websites to raise awareness of the issue.
- #048
Eric Bana was asked to reprise the role of Bruce Banner but turned the offer down.
- #049
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In this film, Bruce (Edward Norton) learns to partially control his anger through martial arts training. The martial arts instructor who slaps him several times during the training (with Bruce's permission) is played by the famous Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Grand Master Rickson Gracie, whose family founded Brazilian Jiu-jitsu; in Brazil it is called "Gracie Jiu-jitsu." In the credits, however, his role is listed as "Aikido Instructor." Aikido is a soft-style martial art in which practitioners use techniques to redirect an attacker's momentum against them without being harmed themselves, whereas Jiu-jitsu is a hard-style martial art, and Bruce demonstrates the technique of overcoming the "shoot" together with his attacker in the factory and street chase scene.
- #050
Visual effects artists based the movements of the Hulk and the Abomination on defensive players.
- #051
David Duchovny was thought to be playing Bruce Banner before Edward Norton.
- #053
In the comics, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross would later become the Red Hulk. Likewise, after some time, Ross's daughter and Bruce Banner/Hulk's love interest, Betty Ross, transforms into the Red She-Hulk. Bruce's cousin Jennifer Walters is already She-Hulk and, like him, is green in her Hulk form.
- #054
(At about 1 hour 9 minutes) When Bruce Banner sends Mr. Blue an email containing his data, while Betty is buying the used truck, the email is traced through the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) database.
- #055
General Ross asks Emil Blonsky his age. Ross guesses 45. Blonsky states that he is 39. Tim Roth was actually 46 when the film was released.
- #056
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Although the final scenes take place in Manhattan (specifically Harlem), they were shot in Toronto, and the first showdown between the Hulk and the Abomination was filmed on Yonge Street. Many Toronto icons are visible, most notably the "spinning disc" sign of Record Man Sam and the marquee of the Zanzibar Tavern.
- #057
This was the only standalone Hulk film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apart from Lou Ferrigno, no one returned to their role until William Hurt appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Black Widow (2021). Tim Roth reprises the role of Blonsky / The Abomination in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and the Disney+ series She-Hulk (2022).
- #060
An earlier draft turned the Abomination into a composite character with Glenn Talbot, a character different from the comics who was played by Adrian Pasdar in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013), also part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #061
(At about 13 minutes) The man who drinks a soda contaminated with Bruce Banner's blood is the comic book writer who co-created The Incredible Hulk in 1962.
- #062
According to screenwriter Zak Penn, this film was closer to comic book writer Bruce Jones's Hulk concepts and to the television series The Incredible Hulk (1977).
- #063
The opening laboratory scene contains references to the opening title sequence of The Incredible Hulk (1977) with its red "Danger" sign, the targeting reticle on Banner's forehead and the X-ray skull images.
- #064
The Hulk as depicted in this film was created through a combination of motion capture and keyframe animation (by Rhythm & Hues).
- #065
This is the second installment of Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #066
Visual effects supervisor Kurt Williams created custom computer programs to control muscle swelling and skin color saturation for the transformations, because Williams believed skin color is affected by emotions such as blushing.
- #067
In 2003, James Schamus wrote a treatment for a direct sequel to Hulk (2003) featuring the Grey Hulk, with The Leader and The Abomination considered as the main villains. At the time, however, Universal held the film rights, and when those rights lapsed at the end of 2005, Marvel held the production rights while Universal handled only distribution.
- #068
While General Ross speaks with Blonsky, he says: "Let me emphasize that what I am about to share with you is extremely sensitive, both personally and for the Army. You know we have an Infantry Weapons Development program. In World War II they started a sub-program for Bio-Tech Force Enhancement." Everything about the serum, especially regarding Bruce's and Blonsky's experiences with it, is a precursor to Captain America. The gamma radiation amplified the effect of the serum explained in Captain America: The First Avenger, which amplified a person's inner traits as well as physical ones, namely Bruce's anger issues and Blonsky's love of a good fight.
- #070
Toronto was chosen as the main shooting location because then-mayor David Miller was a big Hulk fan and offered many concessions.
- #071
In 2023, director Louis Leterrier revealed his plans for the scrapped sequel, saying: "There was like Grey Hulk, Red Hulks - there was a lot of good stuff that we were planning." This followed Red Hulk's appearance in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
- #072
The Hercules aircraft (337) seen at the start of the film is stationed at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario. It is a Canadian Air Force aircraft flown by Canadian military pilots, painted to resemble US Air Force planes.
- #073
The film was the second Marvel film and MCU film released in 2008. The first was Iron Man (2008), released exactly one month before this film.
- #074
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There was a scene in which Bruce finds Betty and Doc Samson walking in the rain, takes them to his home and has dinner with them. The scene shows the three talking, and Bruce breaks down in tears from suppressed sorrow, prompting Betty to comfort him.
- #075
At around the 9-minute mark, when Banner tries to talk to the girl at the bottling plant and the bald man bumps into him, Banner attempts to say "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" in Portuguese, but because he cannot remember the word for angry he says "hungry" instead. "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." was a famous line from The Incredible Hulk (1977) series.
- #076
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At around the 1-hour mark, the cave scene between Betty and the Hulk was inspired by a scene in Book 5 of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's "Hulk Gray."
- #077
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When Bruce gets Betty's necklace back, the package comes from Milburn Pawn Shop. Brad Milburn was one of the film's set designers.
- #078
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Betty's new boyfriend is evidently Doc Samson, while the doctor working with Bruce is Samuel Sterns, destined to become the Leader. During the climax, some of Bruce Banner's blood falls into a wound on Sterns's head. With an ominous smile, his head begins to pulse and swell.
- #079
The Brazilian bottling plant where Bruce Banner works is located in Port Verde. "Verde" means "green" in Portuguese, consistent with the frequent references to the color throughout the film.
- #081
Kevin Feige said that because Hulk was Marvel's most popular character after Spider-Man, it was initially planned that this would be the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the rights to Iron Man were acquired earlier, and so Iron Man (2008) was developed first.
- #083
The film participated in Toronto's Green Screen initiative to help reduce carbon emissions and waste generated during filming. Hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles using ultra-low-sulfur diesel as an energy source were used. To build the sets, the production department used sustainably harvested, locally sourced yellow pine instead of the commonly used lauan, and the wood was then either recycled or donated to environmental organizations. Paints containing no volatile organic compounds or with low volatility were used, and paint cans were turned over to waste management. A contractor was hired to remove trash bins. Eco-friendly products used on set included cloth bags, biodegradable food containers, porcelain and silver tableware, recycled paper, biodegradable soap and cleaners, rechargeable batteries, and stainless steel cups (one for each production member). Gale Anne Hurd hoped the film would serve as a symbol of the effort to encourage the reduction of pollution caused by film productions.
- #085
Green objects can be seen throughout the entire film. The audience's clothing, books, liquids in laboratory glassware, lamps, bottle caps, the tint in Betty Ross's eyeglass frames, and so on.
- #086
Director Louis Leterrier said: "William Hurt didn't want the mustache to play him. The size of the mustache was discussed, but sometimes he and I clashed. You have two kinds of actors. You have your partners, your best friends, who you have to coax all day, and then you have people who like having those arguments. They feed on it. That's how he worked. One day he was yelling at me, 'You don't know anything about actors!' It went really badly for him, he was in the giant helicopter at the end and I was in control. He said, 'You have to find the button for the nuclear power plant…' I took the control stick and shook him, and he fell and looked at me and said, 'I like you!' That was it. He just wanted to fight a little."
- #087
William Hurt and his son are big fans of Hulk.
- #088
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The film premiered on Disney+ on June 16, 2023, after Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios regained the rights to the film from Universal Pictures.
- #089
This is the first MCU film shot on Panavision (anamorphic).
- #092
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When Bruce and Betty arrive in New York City, Betty suggests taking the subway and Bruce says: "me in a metal tube, deep underground in the most aggressive city in the world." This may be a nod to Daredevil #163 (March 1980), in which Bruce gets help from Matt Murdock and then takes the subway, but transforms into the Hulk in the middle of a crowded subway station.
- #093
The film contains over 700 visual effects shots.
- #094
The person Bruce Banner talks to on the computer at the beginning of the film is "Mr. Blue", who wears a blue shirt when they meet later in the film.
- #095
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This will be the second film in which Bruce Banner is shown naked. The first was in Hulk (2003). In Hulk (2003), Bruce is shown naked after he fights the Hulk Gamma Dogs as the Hulk, defeats them, and then transforms back into himself. In this film, after he and Betty check into a motel while fleeing General Ross and the army, Bruce is shown naked when he collapses into a fetal position in the shower due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
- #096
Louis Leterrier saw the project less as an ordinary comic book adaptation and more as an opportunity to add his own voice to the great monster movie tradition. The French filmmaker explained, "My favorite movies growing up were Frankenstein, the original King Kong, werewolf movies." "And because the Hulk TV series was so formative, I also said, 'Of course! Yes!' They saw what I couldn't see. They saw that I was the one who could make this film." The Frankenstein allusions are, of course, this: science spiraling out of control creates a monster who is ostracized by society and forced into exile. Echoes of King Kong can be felt in the cave scene, where Betty Ross draws out some tender traces of humanity from Banner's angry personality. Leterrier was also influenced by An American Werewolf in London for the scene in particular where Banner tries to heal himself in Samuel Sterns's laboratory. And finally, in the third act, during which the army finds itself under attack by the newly created Abomination (Tim Roth), there is a shaky-cam camouflage of Matt Reeves's Cloverfield. "I love Matt Reeves, I love J. J. [Abrams]," Leterrier said. "I just think that what they brought to modern filmmaking, the simplicity of their directing and storytelling…" "It's very visceral," offered Horowitz. "You're kind of in the boots of them."
- #097
Liv Tyler took over the role of Betty Ross from Jennifer Connelly.
- #099
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The serum injected into Emil Blonsky has a different effect on him than it did on Captain America, and the first notable change during the process that gives him his powers is his physical transformation from a scrawny, weak man into a tall, ripped one.
- #102
Peter Mensah, who plays General Joe Greller, would go on to play a different character in the MCU in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013), named Qovas.
- #103
Bruce pauses the television on The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969), which starred the original Dr. Banner, Bill Bixby. Eddie himself was played by Brandon Cruz, who later made a guest appearance on The Incredible Hulk (1977) television series.
- #104
(At around the 39th minute) The computer Edward Norton uses when he is disguised as a delivery man has the "Norton 360" anti-virus program installed.
- #105
As of 2024, this is the only Marvel Cinematic Universe film for which Sarah Halley Finn did not serve as casting director.
- #106
Kevin Feige felt the 15-foot Hulk in Hulk (2003) was too big and settled on a 9-foot Hulk for this film.
- #107
After being impressed by his performance in A History of Violence (2005), Kevin Feige wanted to cast William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.
- #108
Marvel has held the name Hulk under copyright since the late '50s, because the name was originally used for the creature now called Titan Xemnu.
- #110
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Zak Penn had written a Hulk script in the late 1990s, but it was never produced. He included two scenes from it in this film: Banner avoiding sex because of his rising heart rate, and Banner jumping from a helicopter to trigger a Hulk transformation.
- #113
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The film shows Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk traveling from Brazil to Canada. The film's early scenes depict him living in Brazil. Later, after his first transformation, he finds himself somewhere in Guatemala and then goes to Mexico. After Mexico, he is able to return to the United States (to New York, after Virginia). Finally, in the last scenes, he is seen running in Bella Coola in British Columbia.
- #115
This is the sixth Marvel film to show nudity in some form. The first five Marvel films are, in order, Howard the Duck (1986), Hulk (2003), The Punisher (2004), Blade: Trinity (2004) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). The Marvel films that follow are X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), Logan (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
- #116
Producer Gale Anne Hurd said she wanted Edward Norton to play Bruce Banner because he "defines duality" in films such as Primal Fear (1996) and Fight Club (1999).
- #117
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Aside from some brief POV shots in the opening title sequence, the Hulk does not appear until the 23rd minute of the film. And the Hulk's full face is not seen until the 26th minute.
- #118
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Although it is not part of the explanation for the film's PG-13 rating from the MPAA, the film also contains brief nudity. The scene showing this is the one in which Bruce Banner takes a shower and is briefly shown naked when he collapses into a fetal position.
- #119
Soldiers arrive at the house and run a cable under the front door. When the men burst into the room, the dog takes the cable in its mouth. The dog barks furiously at the soldiers, and one of them appears to turn and shoot the dog with a dart gun. The dog is never shown being hit; only the barking stops. The scene was shot in separate takes. The trainer placed the dog on its mark, stood in front of the camera and verbally cued the dog to "fetch" the stiff piece of rope that also served as the cable. Off-screen, the trainer placed the dog on its mark and cued it to bark and act agitated. The dog was removed before the actor threw the fake dart.
- #120
Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson reprised their respective roles in the tie-in video game The Incredible Hulk (2008).
- #122
As of 2025, the film is the second and last solo Hulk film.
- #123
Tim Roth and William Hurt were the only main cast members alive when the Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 in 1962. Tim Blake Nelson was born two years shy of that, in 1964.
- #124
It would not be wrong to say that this is the only MCU film to have premiered on HBO so far (and most likely the last to do so), and it has been on HBO Max since the service launched. All the other films premiered on Epix (from Iron Man (2008) to The Avengers (2012)), Starz (from Iron Man 3 (2013) to Ant-Man (2015), as well as the Tom Holland Spider-Man films released by Sony), and Netflix (from Captain America: Civil War (2016) to Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)), and most recently Disney+ (beginning with Captain Marvel (2019)).
- #125
It was the last MCU film Avi Arad produced, up to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
- #127
Contains a major spoiler — show
Also, in the opening credits, Liv Tyler's character, Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross, does not appear until the film's 35th minute.
- #128
To coincide with the film's release, Marvel published the first Incredible Hulk Omnibus in 2008.
- #131
Director Louis Leterrier drew heavily on the comic book "Hulk: Gray" (2003-04), written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale. The cave scene between Hulk and Betty is taken directly from the comic.
- #132
Edward Norton and Paul Soles appeared in The Score (2001).
- #133
Ten years before this film, Liv Tyler had appeared in Armageddon (1998), which was also produced by Gale Anne Hurd.
- #134
William Hurt, who plays General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in this film, had previously appeared with Jennifer Connelly in Dark City (1998). Connelly had previously played Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross in Hulk (2003).
- #136
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Jennifer Connelly, star of the earlier Hulk (2003), has a connection to this sequel: she first worked with Liv Tyler on Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and with William Hurt on Dark City (1998).
- #137
It was William Hurt's second comic book film, after A History of Violence (2005).
- #138
ABC began developing a Hulk TV series in 2010. Guillermo del Toro and David Eick were to executive produce alongside Marvel Entertainment heads Jeph Loeb and Joe Quesada. It would have been the first series produced under Marvel Television, a newly formed division under Loeb. It would also have been del Toro's first TV series and the first Marvel series produced for ABC after the network's parent company Disney acquired Marvel in 2009. However, after the success of The Avengers (2012), Marvel decided to take a different approach with Hulk and instead worked with Joss Whedon to create Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013), which became Marvel Television's first series. When the Hulk series was scrapped, del Toro moved on to developing Pacific Rim (2013).
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