Edward Norton turned down the chance to play Bruce Banner/Hulk again earlier this year when he decided to pass on Joss Whedon’s upcoming The Avengers .
The resultant mud-slinging with Marvel Studios had Mavel boss Kevin Feige branding Norton uncollaborative, while the actor retaliated by calling the studio “unprofessional” and “disingenuous”.
Now that the smoke has cleared and everybody’s got on with their lives, Norton has spoken with MTV about why he really passed up a return as Hulk, stating it was “a very respectful business decision”.
“We really couldn't work it out on a business level,” the actor says. “I know that's a disappointment to some people, but it's nobody's fault. I don't have any disrespect for anyone's decision in the business framework… do what you need to do on both sides. I have no idea why anyone tried to characterise it as anything else.”
He hastens to add that he really isn’t as wound up as everybody thinks he is, stating: “My life's way too good on too many levels to be over-intense about things like that.”
So there we have it – it was business plain and simple. And nothing at all to do with the fact that The Incredible Hulk was a massive critical flop…
