Fans have been kicking, screaming and smashing for Marvel Studios to make a new solo Hulk movie, though doing so is curtailed by it not possessing all the movie rights. The direction for a potential new film would likely get based around the iconic World War Hulk storyline, which is easily one of the Incredible Hulk's biggest stories in the past few decades. Even Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo wants it to happen, but unfortunately, shared movie rights aren't the only thing keeping that story from being adapted to film.

The perfect time to adapt this storyline has already passed, with the current status quo of the Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe completely contradicting the setup of World War Hulk. Still, there's potential for the Hulk to be used in other interesting directions, stripping away some of his recent developments and taking him back to his savage roots. Let's look at where Hulk can go from here.

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The MCU Missed Its Chance to Adapt World War Hulk

Hulk in armor in Thor Ragnarok – MCU

The 2015 movie Avengers: Age of Ultron saw the Hulk get sent off-world in the Avengers Quinjet. The green monster had been deemed too dangerous to live on Earth, having caused a destructive ruckus fighting fellow Avenger Iron Man. When he next appeared, he had become a gladiatorial warrior on an alien planet, finally reuniting with the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok. While it was a Thor movie, this set of events was clearly based on the Planet Hulk story from the comics. That story would segue into World War Hulk, in which an angry but intelligent Hulk came back to Earth madder than ever.

For various reasons, the MCU can't adapt this story anymore, as the perfect setup has already passed. Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War would be followed up by Hulk becoming Professor Hulk off-screen, with the Savage Hulk long gone. A better alternative to Hulk's "development" in Infinity War and even Ragnarok would be his returning to Earth stronger than before and hellbent on getting revenge upon those that had sent him away. But with Hulk now the more docile Professor Hulk, the pathos for the storyline would be lost. Sure, a traumatic event could cause the raging Savage Hulk to return, but the groundwork currently isn't there.

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How the MCU Can Use the Hulk Going Forward

For now, it seems that Marvel Studios intends to replace Mark Ruffalo's Hulk with his cousin Jennifer Walters, if mainly in spirit. Sure, his taco-making Professor Hulk will still likely be around in some capacity, but she'll be taking away his time in the limelight and his presence on the Avengers. Plus, there's the matter of the Hulk cinematic rights, meaning that Marvel Studios can't make a solo movie for Bruce Banner anyway. Of course, a World War Hulk movie would count more as a crossover film like the Avengers titles, but that gamma-irradiated idea won't work either.

Still, Bruce Banner's Professor Hulk could show up sporadically in other MCU productions, perhaps whittling away at his seeming happy ending. The happy-go-lucky Zen master Hulk would slowly have loss after loss happen, eventually igniting a rage inside that brings the Savage Hulk back into action. From there, he would be able to smash away during the events of Avengers: Secret Wars in a way that he wasn't during Endgame. Even if it means his death, it'd be one heck of a goodbye, as fans would see him destroy his opponents one last time. In fact, said death could even be a ruse that leads to an adaptation of Immortal Hulk.

Much of this depends on what happens with the Hulk during She-Hulk, and it's still likely that the show introduces narrative elements that make World War Hulk a possibility. After all, the MCU doesn't adapt stories verbatim from the comics, so it could change World War Hulk while still capturing the gist of the plot. As things stand, however, the best time to do so with this world-breaking story was a few years ago.