Marvel Studios is moving forward with plans to make a new movie based on its classic comic book series about a scientist who transforms into a massive, green candidate for anger management. The studio has hired Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, Unleashed) to direct The Incredible Hulk. The appointment will be formally announced during a Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con Int’l on Saturday, July 22.
Scripted by Zak Penn, (X-Men: The Last Stand), the new film will ignore director Ang Lee’s 2004 effort, Hulk, which featured a CG-animated green giant created by Industrial Light & Magic. That film earned more than $245 million worldwide, but its $62 million opening was a disappointment to Universal execs after the boffo debuts of Sony’s Spider-Man and 20th Century Fox’s X2: X-Men United.
The Incredible Hulk will follow Ghost Rider as the second project independently financed and produced by Marvel through the company’s $525 million revolving film financing facility. Avi Arad, Kevin Feige and Gale Ann Hurd are producing with Michael Helfant and Ari Arad exec producing. The pic will be released by Universal at a yet-to-be-determined date. Casting is slated to begin immediately.
Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage, will be open Feb. 16, 2007. You can view the CG-laden trailer at www.sonypictures.com/movies/ghostrider.
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