Avengers: Endgame is currently playing in theatres and people are gonna keep talking about it for the next few months, or perhaps years. It had us all stay silent in intrigue, laugh throughout, cry and literally scream all in the span of 3 hours. So ultimately, it was a ride filled with all sorts of emotions known to a human being. That is why it was so strong as a movie, and worthy of a finale. So many elements came in together, and the compound formed was loved by everyone.
Spoilers Follow.
One of the key elements of this story was The Hulk. We had been missing Hulk since the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, and he came back surprising everyone completely. Well, we all knew that we will be getting the Professor Hulk persona in Endgame, but no one really knew that it would come in so soon. We thought that the film will show us the build-up to how Hulk re-emerged, but instead, it used the time jump convenience and told us about the product.
This film had so much to do, so we can let this piece of character development pass. But what’s interesting is that the smart Hulk could have come into the picture way before Avengers: Endgame. We could have actually seen this version of the Hulk in Infinity War itself as confirmed by Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It would have happened in Wakanda right when Thanos steps in to take the Mind Stone from Vision.
Here’s what those two told the New York Times:
“Markus – There was a time when Banner became Smart Hulk in the first movie. It was a lot of fun, but it came at the wrong moment. It was an up, right when everyone else was down.
McFeely – His arc was designed like, I’m not getting along with the Hulk, the Hulk won’t come out. And then they compromise and become Smart Hulk.
Markus – We were like, but he’s Smart Hulk in the next movie. So that diner scene [in Endgame], was like, O.K., how do we smash right into that without scenes of him in a lab, gene-splicing?”
So this is where the writers decided that it would rather be much sensible for the Hulk to straightaway surprise us in Avengers: Endgame. We were told that Banner spent 18 months in a gamma lab creating a compromise allowing the two personalities to coexist. Those lab experiments and Paul Rudd’s surprising reaction would not have felt right if the Hulk came out in Infinity War and then went back. The writers continued:
“McFeely – Oh, I wrote scenes in a lab. Now it’s just him eating pancakes and I think it generally works.
Markus – The whole thing rides on [Paul] Rudd going, ‘I’m so confused.’”
Well, what we got was amazing, even though the fans may have been disappointed by not getting a Hulk vs. Thanos 2.0. But it is what it is. Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Danai Gurira, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Brolin, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tessa Thompson, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Tilda Swinton, Ty Simpkins, Ava Russo and Brie Larson.
Here’s the new synopsis of Avengers: Endgame:
“Thanos snapped his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War, and half the life in the universe instantly dissolved. Now a ragged group of surviving warriors, including Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk works to counteract the Mad Titan’s genocidal action.
Since our heroes couldn’t stop Thanos the first time, what makes them think they can win in a rematch? The answer may be in overwhelming power, thanks to Captain Marvel, or in the tiniest spaces between atoms accessible to Ant-Man. Avengers: Endgame will rewrite the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. When it’s all over, nothing will be the same.”
