Why There's Never Been A Hulk MCU Movie But She-Hulk Is Happening

There has yet to be — and there likely never will be — a Hulk movie produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Disney, which begs the question of how the MCU Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was able to happen. The complicated film rights surrounding the Hulk franchise have made it hard for the titular character to have a large part in the MCU, yet She-Hulk, another character in the franchise, seems to be getting her own show with little difficulty. It might seem odd, but there is a good explanation for why it’s worked out that way.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is set to be the next MCU TV show, and that can be a little surprising, considering the history of the Hulk franchise in the MCU. While he's been The Incredible Hulk. The Hulk’s treatment in the MCU up until now could easily give the impression that there’s little interest in doing anything with his franchise, which would make it even more surprising that She-Hulk, another Hulk character, is getting her own TV show.

There are specific reasons why there haven’t been any new Hulk movies yet She-Hulk: Attorney at Law can happen. While it might seem She-Hulk should have the same restrictions as the Hulk, that’s not entirely true. Because of factors such as the format of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the history of the character, a She-Hulk MCU show ends up being easier to make a reality than a Hulk movie, which is still very unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Why Marvel Couldn’t Make A Hulk Movie

Edward Nortion's Hulk roars in The Incredible Hulk

The reason why Marvel can’t make a Hulk movie is that they don’t own the rights to do so. While Marvel owns the film rights to the Hulk franchise, the distribution rights are owned by Universal Pictures, so a Hulk movie can only be made if Universal Pictures puts it out. It’s a similar situation to how Sony owns the movie rights to Spider-Man even after his introduction into the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, but a key difference is that Universal Pictures explicitly has a right of refusal.

With Universal Pictures’ right of refusal, a Hulk movie can’t be made without their approval. It might seem easy enough to make that happen with how much of a success the MCU has become, but considering how both The Incredible Hulk and Ang Lee’s Hulk were critical and financial failures, Universal Pictures might not see the Hulk as a worthwhile investment. The only stipulation in all of this is that Marvel is still allowed to use the Hulk in movies so long as it’s not a Hulk movie, which is why the Hulk has been able to exist in the MCU following The Incredible Hulk, if only through team-up movies and assorted cameos. There have been rumors that an MCU World War Hulk movie is in development, but as of right now, there’s nothing to suggest that Universal Pictures is going to lighten its stance on Hulk movies.

Why Marvel Can Make A She-Hulk Show Now

The Hulk franchise is under heavy restrictions thanks to Universal, but there are some very likely explanations for why that didn’t prevent She-Hulk: Attorney at Law from coming about. For starters, even though She-Hulk is part of the Hulk franchise, she’s technically a separate IP. After the TV series The Bionic Woman became a hit in the late 1970s, Marvel was afraid that someone would try creating a female Hulk, so She-Hulk was created to ensure that they would retain the rights to that sort of character. This is likely still the case decades after the fact, which would give Marvel free rein to do what they want with the character.

Another possibility is that What If…?, none of which had Universal Pictures involved. What If…? is especially telling because of how it features Spider-Man, another character Marvel doesn’t have full ownership of, and while animation could be its own separate area, it still suggests that television is treated differently enough from movies from a legal standpoint to allow a certain amount of leeway.

Thanks to Universal owning the distribution rights to the Hulk film franchise, a Hulk movie can’t be made without their approval, and it’s unlikely that a new one will ever see the light of day following the single Edward Norton Hulk movie from the start of the MCU. Fortunately, this didn’t prevent Marvel from making She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, either because the title character is a separate IP or because the TV rights to the Hulk franchise are separate from the film rights. Whatever the case, all that matters is that there are still ways for Hulk characters to be in the spotlight in the MCU.