The Hulk To Appear In Thor: Ragnarok

The upcoming ‘Captain America: Civil War’ is set to feature the biggest superhero ensemble of any Marvel movie to date, but with two notable absentees - Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/Hulk.

But fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s burliest heroes need not despair, as a new report claims they will reunite in ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’

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The claim comes from JoBlo, whose sources reportedly inform them that the Hulk will be a part of the third (and most likely final?) ‘Thor’ solo movie, set to be directed by Taika Waititi, and expected to in some way deal with the thunder god and his Asgardian comrades facing off against some form of Norse apocalypse.

JoBlo also confirm that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Jaimie Alexander’s Lady Sif will return, although there’s no mention of whether we can expect such other series stars as Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.

Perhaps most intriguingly, we’re told the film will centre at least in part on a “distant planet” that is “not Asgard and not Earth.”

So how and why does Hulk wind up in space, you ask? This, naturally, is unknown at this point - but factor in that reference to an unknown alien world, and this will invariably lead to speculation that ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ might contain elements of the beloved ‘Planet Hulk’ storyline, which many fans have been calling to be put on film.

‘Planet Hulk’ centres on a Hulk who has grown somewhat unpredictable and unstable - i.e., not a million miles from how we left him in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ - being banished to the furthest reaches of space for the protection of humanity.

Here, the Hulk encounters a race of primitive alien warriors, and finds himself doing battle in a gladiatorial arena. This leads to him leading his fellow gladiators in an uprising against the tyrannical Red King.

Obviously it’s too early to say whether this story will in any way factor into ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ but rumours of a ‘Planet Hulk’ movie seemingly refuse to go away. James Gunn has already been obliged to deny that the story will be a part of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.’

Marvel themselves have yet to confirm or deny that Mark Ruffalo will appear in ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is scheduled to open on 3 November 2017, coming at the end of what will be a very busy year for Marvel, with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2′ and the as-yet untitled ‘Spider-Man’ reboot due earlier that same year.

Picture Credit: Marvel/Disney