Mark Ruffalo's Recruitment To The MCU Sounds Like Something Out Of A Spy Movie
The 2010 San Diego Comic-Con was not the biggest gathering in the event's history (2015's estimated 167,000 attendees set a record that will likely never be passed in our post-COVID world), but in terms of its importance as a movie marketing event, this was the freakin' year. The gargantuan, hangar-sized Hall H, christened in 2004 as the home for star-studded studio panels, was packed on both peak days as major stars and filmmakers shilled the next two years' most anticipated genre titles. Friday was all about "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which, with all its major stars present, turned into a shriek-filled presentation as deafening as The Beatles' 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
And then there was Saturday.
Warner Bros. kicked off the Hall H festivities with a buzzy panel that could've matched the "Twilight" delirium had the main Harry Potter trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint showed up for the "Deathly Hallows: Part I" preview. The day threatened to descend into chaos when a fight between attendees ended with one of the combatants getting stabbed in the eye with a pen. But even the threat of nerd-on-nerd violence couldn't scare people away from the weekend's must-attend Marvel Studios presentation.
Two months after the blockbuster release of "Iron Man 2," fans were fairly certain they'd see footage from Marvel's 2011 duo of "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" — and that would've been enough. But the studio had something much splashier in mind, and one of the panel's participants wasn't sure if he'd be hitting the Hall H stage until the morning of his appearance.
Ruffalo's unexpected leverage
According to Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards' "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," Mark Ruffalo was, as had been widely reported in the weeks leading up to SDCC, in talks to succeed Ed Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk in the forthcoming superhero epic "The Avengers." And locking him down was important because Marvel wanted to end its panel with a superpowered bang by assembling all six Avengers (and their two S.H.I.E.L.D. cohorts) for an epic, SDCC throwing down of the superhero movie gauntlet (pun very much intended).
Ruffalo, however, was far from a box office draw in 2010. Though he'd established himself as one of the finest performers of his generation with his emotionally thorny portrayal of Laura Linney's standoffish younger brother in Kenneth Lonergan's 2000 classic "You Can Count on Me," Ruffalo had settled into something approaching a character actor groove. In a normal contract negotiation, this would've given Marvel all kinds of leverage to slowly negotiate a studio-friendly contract with the B-list star's representatives. But with SDCC fast approaching, a deal had to be finalized at the eleventh hour if Marvel wanted a full Avengers assemblage.
Ruffalo, who would receive his first Academy Award nomination in early 2011 for his supporting turn in Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are All Right," had obtained Norton's blessing to take over as Banner. It was an odd situation in that unproven stars like Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans would get standalone films as, respectively, Thor and Captain America before appearing in "The Avengers," while Ruffalo was far more in demand as an actor. But if he missed as Hulk, he could take solace in knowing that he'd given critically acclaimed performances in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, and David Fincher. He'd be fine.
If there is a car there, you got the part
Still, a killer Hulk portrayal meant long-term work in films that were projected to be the defining blockbusters of the new decade. So he was sweating it when, on the night before Marvel Studios' 2010 SDCC panel, his agent called with the following message:
"Look out your window at 5 o'clock in the morning. If there is a car there, you got the part. If there's not, just go back to bed."
Ruffalo did as he was told, and, sure enough, woke up to find a limousine idling outside his house. He was evidently groggy, but knew what to do; he got in the vehicle and caught a San Diego-bound plane. Per Ruffalo, "I was happy. And I was scared to death."
The audience pop that day was incredible, especially when Robert Downey Jr. made a surprise cameo to announce new MCU additions Joss Whedon, Jeremy Renner, and Ruffalo. As a fan of Ruffalo's long before he joined the Avengers, I worried that his brilliant acting career might get sidetracked. Between Lonergan's "Margaret," Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher," Tom McCarthy's "Spotlight" and Todd Haynes' "Dark Water," I had nothing to worry about.
Ruffalo is expected to earn his fourth Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination next month for his superb work in Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things." After that, he'll co-star in Bong Joon-ho's feverishly anticipated "Mickey 17." I can't think of an MCU participant who's managed their career more deftly than Ruffalo. Given Marvel Studios' recent struggles, it's possible a standalone Hulk movie could become a priority (despite Universal still holding the distribution rights), but he doesn't need it, and, frankly, I hope he's free and clear of the character for a few more years at least. We need a superhero break.