Hulk (also known as The Hulk) is a 2003 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The film was directed by Ang Lee and written by John Turman, James Schamus, and Michael France. Eric Bana stars as Bruce Banner and Ang Lee (through motion capture) as Hulk, alongside Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte. The film explores Bruce Banner's origins. After a lab accident involving gamma radiation, he transforms into a giant green-skinned humanoid with superhuman strength known as the Hulk whenever stressed or emotionally provoked. The United States military pursues him, and he clashes with his biological father.
Development started in 1990. At one time, Joe Johnston and then Jonathan Hensleigh were to direct. Hensleigh, John Turman, Michael France, Zak Penn, J. J. Abrams, Michael Tolkin, David Hayter, and Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski wrote more scripts before Ang Lee and James Schamus's involvement. The project was filmed primarily in California from March to August 2002, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Hulk was released by Universal Pictures on June 20, 2003. The film grossed $245.3 million worldwide and received mixed-to-positive reviews upon release, with reviewers praising the cast's performances and Lee's directing, but criticizing the slow pace and length. It has since received retrospective praise and a cult following for its departure from conventional superhero film tropes. A planned sequel, which would have been released in May 2005, was repurposed as a reboot titled The Incredible Hulk and released on June 13, 2008, as the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Plot
In the 1960s, governmental genetics researcher David Banner tries to improve human DNA. His supervisor, Colonel Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, forbids human experimentation, so David experiments on himself. His wife, Edith, soon gives birth to their son, Bruce Banner. David realizes Bruce inherited his mutant DNA and attempts to find a cure. After discovering his experiments, Ross shuts down David's research; David rigs Desert Base's gamma reactor to explode as revenge. Believing he is dangerous, David tries to kill Bruce but accidentally murders Edith when she gets between them; the trauma makes Bruce suppress his early childhood memories. Ross arrests and sends David to a mental hospital, putting the four-year-old Bruce into foster care. Mrs. Krenzler adopts him, and Bruce assumes the surname, growing up believing both his birth parents are dead.
In the present, Bruce, now an adult, becomes a scientist at the Berkeley Lab with his girlfriend and (now) General Ross's estranged daughter, Betty Ross. Representing the private research company Atheon, the shady Glenn Talbot becomes interested in the scientists' nanomeds research to create regenerating soldiers for the military-industrial complex. David reappears as a janitor in the lab building to infiltrate Bruce's life. Ross investigates, becoming concerned for Betty's safety around Bruce.
Bruce saves a colleague named Harper from an accident with a malfunctioning gammasphere. Bruce wakes in a hospital bed and tells Betty he feels better than ever, but Betty cannot fathom his survival since the nanomeds killed everything else; unknown to them, the radiation merged with Bruce's altered DNA. Later, David meets Bruce, revealing their relationship and hinting at Bruce's mutation. He later uses samples of Bruce's DNA for animal experimentation. Bruce's increasing rage from the tensions around him activates his gamma-radiated DNA; he becomes the Hulk and destroys the lab. Betty finds Bruce unconscious in his home the next morning, barely remembering the previous night. Ross arrives later to question Bruce before Betty locates David to investigate him. After hours of interrogation, Ross seizes the lab and places Bruce under house arrest. David calls Bruce that night, revealing he mutated his three dogs and sicced them on Betty, enraging him. Bemoaning the lab's destruction, Talbot attacks Bruce, who transforms, injuring Talbot and Ross's MPs. The Hulk finds Betty at her forest cabin, saves her from the dogs, and changes back.
Betty calls Ross the following day; the army sedates and takes Bruce to Desert Base. Deeming him doomed to follow in David's footsteps, Ross doubts helping Bruce, but Betty persuades Ross to let her try. David subjects himself to the nanomeds and gammasphere, becoming able to meld with and absorb the properties of anything he touches. Talbot wrestles control from Ross, forcing Betty to return home. Seeking to profit from the Hulk's power, Talbot fails to provoke Bruce and has him put in an isolation tank. David confronts Betty at her house, offering to surrender himself yet asking to speak to Bruce "one last time". Talbot induces a nightmare from Bruce's repressed memories and triggers a transformation, but fails to keep him contained and Hulk escapes. Trapping the Hulk in sticky foam, Talbot tries to take a sample of him, but the Hulk breaks free and knocks Talbot down. Talbot inadvertently kills himself when he fires an explosive round that ricochets off the Hulk, and Ross resumes command. The Hulk escapes the base, battles the army in the desert, and leaps to San Francisco to find Betty. She convinces Ross to take her to the Hulk, returning Bruce to normal.
Bruce and David talk at a base in the city while Ross watches, threatening to incinerate them. David has descended into megalomania, wanting Bruce's power to destroy his enemies. After Bruce refuses, David bites into a high-voltage cable when Ross powers it and absorbs the energy, mutating into a powerful electrical entity. Bruce becomes the Hulk and fights him. The fight leads them to a lake where David tries to absorb the Hulk's power. Bruce then lets David take it, flooding his father with all the rage, anger, and pain that he suffered and transforming him into a gigantic green bubble. Ross orders a Gamma Charge Bomb to end the battle, which destroys David, and Bruce is presumed dead afterwards. A year later, Ross has Betty under constant surveillance, as many Hulk sightings get reported. In exile in the Amazon rainforest, Bruce is alive as a medical camp doctor. His camp gets overrun by soldiers who try to steal their supplies. After Bruce unsuccessfully warns their commander not to make him angry, the Hulk bellows in rage.
Cast Eric Bana as Bruce Banner / Hulk:A gamma radiation research scientist who, after exposure to elevated gamma radiation levels, transforms into an enormous, green, muscular monster humanoid when enraged or agitated. His size and strength also vary depending on his anger level in this film: the lower limit is 9 ft (2.74 m), his middle limit is 12 ft (3.66 m), and his upper limit is 15 ft (4.57 m). He is legally known as Bruce Krenzler throughout the film. Bana was cast in October 2001, signing for an additional two sequels. Ang Lee felt obliged to cast Bana upon seeing Chopper and first approached the actor in July 2001. Other actors heavily pursued the role. Bana was also in heavy contention for Ghost Rider but lost out to Nicolas Cage. Bana explained, "I was obsessed with the TV show. I was never a huge comic book reader when I was a kid, but I was completely obsessed with the television show." It was widely reported Billy Crudup turned down the role. Johnny Depp and Steve Buscemi were reportedly under consideration for the lead. David Duchovny and Jeff Goldblum auditioned for the role. Edward Norton, who went on to play Bruce in The Incredible Hulk, expressed interest in the role but turned it down as he was disappointed with the script. Tom Cruise was also offered the role but he turned it down. Ang Lee as The Voice Of Hulk. Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross:Bruce's girlfriend and colleague, General Ross's estranged daughter, and possibly the only one who can make the Hulk revert into Bruce. Director Ang Lee attracted Connelly to the role. "He's not talking about a guy running around in green tights and a glossy, fun-filled movie for kids. He's talking along the lines of tragedy and psychodrama. I find it interesting, the green monster of rage and greed, jealousy and fear in all of us." Conelly would eventually provides the voice of Karen AI in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: Homecoming. Rhiannon Leigh Wryn as young Betty Ross Sam Elliott as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross:A four-star general and Betty's estranged father. Ross was responsible for prohibiting David Banner from his lab work after learning of his dangerous experiments. Elliot said his performance was similar to his portrayal of Basil L. Plumley in We Were Soldiers. Elliott accepted the role without reading the script, being excited to work with Ang Lee, and researched Hulk comic books for the part. Todd Tesen as young Thaddeus Ross Josh Lucas as Glenn Talbot:A ruthless and arrogant former soldier who has a history with Betty. He offers Bruce and Betty a chance to work for him at the research company Atheon and make self-healing super soldiers. Nick Nolte as David Banner:Bruce's mentally unstable biological father, who's also a genetics research scientist. He spent several years locked away for causing a gamma reactor explosion and accidentally killing his wife, Edith. David eventually gains absorbing powers, reminiscent of the comic book character Absorbing Man, which first appeared in the film's early scripts. At one point, he also becomes a towering creature composed of electricity, reminiscent of Zzzax, one of the Hulk's enemies in the comic series. Nolte agreed to participate in the film when Lee described the project as a "Greek tragedy". Paul Kersey as young David Banner Cara Buono as Edith Banner:Bruce's biological mother, whom he cannot remember. She is heard but mostly appears in Bruce's nightmares. Celia Weston as Mrs. Krenzler:Bruce's adoptive mother, who cared for him after Edith's death and David's incarceration. Kevin Rankin as Harper:Bruce's colleague, whom he saved from the gamma radiation.
Stan Lee, who co-created Hulk, and Lou Ferrigno, who portrayed the character in the 1970s series, make cameo appearances as security guards. Johnny Kastl and Daniel Dae Kim have small roles as soldiers.
Production Development Jonathan Hensleigh Producers Avi Arad and Gale Anne Hurd began developing Hulk in 1990, the same year of the airing of the final television film based on the 1970s television series, The Death of the Incredible Hulk. They set the property up at Universal Pictures in 1992. Michael France and Stan Lee were invited into Universal's offices in 1993, with France writing the script. Universal's concept was to have the Hulk battle terrorists, an idea France disliked. John Turman, a Hulk comic book fan, was brought in to write the script in 1994, getting Lee's approval. Heavily influenced by the Tales to Astonish issues, Turman wrote ten drafts and pitted the Hulk against General Ross, the military, and the Leader, also including Rick Jones and the atomic explosion origin from the comics along with Brian Banner as the explanation for Bruce's inner anger. Universal had mixed feelings over Turman's script, but future screenwriters would use many elements.