Having licensed its Hulk character to Universal for Ang Lee’s tepidly received, CG-laden feature film, Marvel Ent. is making its own movie based on the classic comic-book superhero and has set June 27, 2008 as the release date. Directed by action specialist Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, Unleashed) The Incredible Hulk will debut in theaters just weeks after the May 2 bow of Marvel’s Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr.
The Incredible Hulk is being independently produced by Marvel Studios through its $525 million, non-recourse film finance facility and will be distributed domestically and in several international territories by Universal Pictures. Casting is currently underway.
Though many will consider it a sequel to the not-so-jolly green giant’s 2003 feature film debut, Marvel is apparently trying to distance the 2008 Hulk release from Lee’s effort, which didn’t do as well at the box office as fellow Marvel franchises Spider-Man and X-Men. The company promises a return to the roots of the Hulk mythology with the new script, which is being written by Zak Penn (X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand). The film is being produced by former Marvel Ent. CEO Avi Arad, Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige and veteran producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator).
“The Incredible Hulk will be the type of fun, high-octane event film people have come to expect from Marvel,’ says Feige. ‘We could not be more excited about this project and our summer 2008 prospects now that we have both our green goliath and our highly-anticipated Iron Man set for release.”?
“We’re very happy that Universal is distributing The Incredible Hulk,’ adds Marvel Studios president and COO Michael Helfant, who will exec produce the film. ‘We have a history together and this is a great opportunity for both Marvel and Universal to take the Hulk film franchise to another level.”
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