Edward Norton was offered the role of Bruce Banner but declined. Norton disliked the screenplay despite being a fan of the Hulk. He later took on the role in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
According to the animators at ILM, the Hulk's measurements are as follows: he weighs 3,452 pounds (1,565.8 kilograms) (247 stone). He can exert 14 tons of pressure per square inch. His skin is ten times stronger than Kevlar. His chest measures 17 feet 4 inches (5.3 metres). His waist is 12 feet 10 inches (3.3 metres). His feet are 4 feet 3 inches (1.3 metres); were he to wear shoes, they would be US size 87. His neck measures 6 feet 9 inches (2 metres). He can reach a top speed of 300 miles (483 kilometres) per hour and can cover three to four miles (4.8 to 6.4 kilometres) in a single leap.
A considerable amount of the microbiology work shown on screen is genuine, provided by the wife of Ang Lee.
Nick Nolte let his hair grow out into a wild, unkempt style for the film, and around that time he was arrested for drink-driving and photographed in what became his notorious mug shot.
Ang Lee utilised a split-screen technique to reproduce, on film, the appearance of comic-book panels. The approach required numerous takes of the same sequence, which proved gruelling for Eric Bana. It took four takes to capture Banner's first transformation into the Hulk, and by the time the scene was complete he was close to collapse.
The role of Betty Ross appealed to Jennifer Connelly because she found Ang Lee's take on the Hulk compelling: 'He wasn't aiming to make a glossy, fun-filled children's film about a green chap running about in tights. He was speaking in terms of tragedy and psychodrama — the green monster of rage, greed, jealousy and fear within us all.'
In this film the Hulk increases in height as he grows angrier; consequently, ILM's animators created three distinct Hulks that Ang Lee compared to developmental stages:
- In his first appearance he stands nine feet (2.7 m) tall, representing the infant/toddler stage.
- On his second appearance he reaches 12 feet (3.6 m), portraying a mid-sized teenage Hulk.
- On the third and fourth occasions he grows to 15 feet (4.5 m), as the adult Hulk who is in control.
Ang Lee brought the Hulk to life using motion-capture technology.
Eric Bana said the atmosphere on set felt absurdly solemn and morbid. Director Ang Lee told him he was shooting a kind of superhero tragedy and that an entirely separate film about the Hulk would be produced at the Industrial Light & Magic studios. Ironically, critics later criticised the film for being an overly serious superhero picture.
The picture was in development for 12 years — ample time for computer-generated imagery (CGI) to mature enough to deliver the necessary visual effects.
Sam Elliot agreed to take on the role of General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross without reading the screenplay, simply because he was keen to work with Ang Lee.
Because of the dim lighting during his first appearance, the Hulk can sometimes look greyish-green — a nod to the fact he was grey in his debut comic in May 1962. The publisher couldn’t reproduce grey very well, so Stan Lee chose to make the Hulk green, largely because green hadn’t been used much for other characters.
The sheer volume of computer-generated imagery (CGI) used in the dogfight made it one of the most intricate sequences ILM had ever produced up to that point.
In the comics, Bruce Banner's father was named Brian Banner. For the film, his name was changed to David Banner as an homage to The Incredible Hulk (1977), in which the Hulk was known as David Banner.
During his first transformation into the Hulk, Bruce wrecks much of the laboratory where he works. When he lifts the gammasphere onto his back and shoulders, the Hulk briefly adopts a pose reminiscent of the Greek mythological figure Atlas, who bears the sphere of the heavens in the same way. The moment acts as a reference to the real-world location of the gammasphere, which is housed in A.T.L.A.S. (Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator) at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois. Despite its name, the actual gammasphere has no capability to generate gamma rays.
Throughout the film, several hints presage David Banner's eventual descent into madness:
- He poses as a janitor in his son's laboratory, alluding to Samuel Sterns, a janitor who later becomes the Hulk's archenemy, "The Leader".
- He subjects himself to gamma radiation and acquires the properties of whatever he touches, similar to the Absorbing Man, another foe of the Hulk.
- In the final confrontation he absorbs and converts a great deal of electrical energy, a nod to the classic Hulk villain Zzzax.
The property used as Betty Ross's home was also featured in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Lou Ferrigno: (approximately 12 minutes in) appears as a security guard. Ferrigno is most recognised for playing the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk (1977) and in a number of subsequent projects.
The eldest son of Ang Lee devised the 'Hulk-dogs'.
Nick Nolte (David Banner) relied on an oxygen cylinder throughout filming. Eric Bana recalled an occasion when, after taking a hit of oxygen on set, Nolte turned to Bana and confided, "I don't really need this, it just makes them think you're fucking crazy and they pay attention."
Costume designer Marit Allen was obliged to devise a deliberately unflattering, geeky wardrobe for Bruce Banner to conceal that Eric Bana was actually in superb physical condition.
Billy Crudup declined the part of Bruce Banner. Also under consideration were Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Jeff Goldblum, David Duchovny and Steve Buscemi.
Stan Lee: (around the 12-minute mark) The creator of the Hulk (1962) made a brief appearance as a security guard and improvised his lines.
Eric Bana said the highlight of appearing in the film was working with Nick Nolte, adding, "He was, quite literally, one of my favourite actors of all time."
The Incredible Hulk (2008) served as a reboot intended to place the character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, while Marvel retained the production rights to make a film featuring the Hulk, Universal Pictures continued to hold the distribution rights for any standalone film centred on the character. Consequently, Marvel Studios produced The Incredible Hulk (2008), with distribution handled by Universal Pictures.
Jennifer Connelly subsequently provided the voice of Karen, the A.I. inside Peter Parker's Spider-Man suit, in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Sam Elliot read Hulk comics to prepare for his part as General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross. He was hesitant about growing a moustache because the Army generally frowns upon facial hair, but Ang Lee persuaded him to do so.
While production was underway in San Francisco, California, filming was halted for roughly two hours when some students from the University of California, Berkeley played a prank, systematically urinating in porta-loos and producing very loud peeing noises that distracted the cast on set. It then took about two hours to round up all of the students.
Eric Bana wasn't particularly keen on the Hulk comics that inspired the film, but he was an avid fan of The Incredible Hulk (1977). Bana said, 'I was obsessed with the television series. I was never a big comic-book reader as a child, but I was completely obsessed with the television series.'
Ang Lee chose to delay revealing the Hulk in daylight until later in the film, allowing viewers to become accustomed to seeing him first.
The film 'Hulk' (2003) depicts the only combat missions ever flown — albeit simulated and fictional — by the RAH-66 Comanche stealth helicopter; the Comanche programme was cancelled a year after the film's première, with only two airframes built.
A prop frog called Freddie was used in the nanomedicine experiment — it wasn’t real. The film crew pumped air into it to make it appear to be breathing. They resorted to the prop after the live frog proved less animated than the fake.
As Ang Lee has said, the film's screenplay drew on monster tales such as King Kong (1933) and Frankenstein (1931); on fantasies like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Beauty and the Beast and Faust; and, above all, on tragedies from Greek mythology.
As General Ross makes his way to San Francisco to intercept the Hulk, his helicopter carries the codename 'T-Bolt' — a tribute to Ross's comics nickname 'Thunderbolt' (a reference to his explosive temper).
The first instruction Ang Lee gave the costume department was 'no lab coats', as he wanted the scientists to be depicted as realistically as possible.
While the project was being developed in the mid-1990s, Johnny Depp was initially the leading choice to portray Bruce Banner. Later, Billy Crudup became Ang Lee's first choice for Banner, but he turned down the offer. The role was then offered to Tom Cruise, and Steve Buscemi, David Duchovny and Jeff Goldblum subsequently underwent screen tests for the part. Crudup would later portray Doctor Manhattan in the comic-book film Watchmen (2009).
In April 1997, Joe Johnston was due to direct the film but withdrew from the project in July that year to shoot October Sky (1999). Johnston later directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe picture, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
Bruce's dreams are mostly coloured in green and purple, the Hulk's signature colours. According to production designer Rick Heinrichs, those colours recur throughout Bruce's life as a motif.
The Hulk doesn't make his full appearance until roughly the 42-minute mark of the 2003 film.
ILM chose to study a person enacting the Hulk's movements to inform how the character should move. At first they experimented with bodybuilders, but found them too bulky and unwieldy, so they settled on personal trainers.
Danny Elfman's score honours the work of composer Bernard Herrmann, particularly his collaborations with suspense director Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
Based on this film, a theme-park roller coaster at Universal Studios pays clear homage to it, particularly evident when you board the ride's carriages. The station was styled to resemble the interior of the subterranean laboratories to which Bruce Banner is taken while sedated. After Talbot dies in the movie, the Hulk flees into a control room and begins to smash it. General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross instructs a soldier to light the tunnel to "Show him the way out." The roller coaster replicated the control-room and tunnel design, with the tunnel functioning as the accelerating climb that launches the ride.
When Betty first meets David Banner, they talk about a man called Benny. Benny was a soldier who was featured in the Hulk graphic novel "The Dogs of War", which introduced the idea of Hulk-dogs (creatures that also appear in this film). Illustrations from that same book flip across the screen as the opening Marvel logo appears.
In the scene where Betty visits David Banner's house to ask after Bruce, there's a brief glimpse of a reptile in an aquarium — a gila monster. It's a nod to the cartoon The Incredible Shrinking Hulk (1982), in which a laboratory accident shrinks Bruce down to a tiny size. He then turns into the Hulk and roams across the desert, where he comes up against and fights a gila monster that, compared to his miniature stature, is gigantic.
The film developed a cult following in the wake of the success of grittier superhero pictures such as The Dark Knight Trilogy, Logan (2017), and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Some critics contend that many viewers misinterpreted the film, arguing it was ahead of its time.
To indicate to the cast where the Hulk would be positioned once he was digitally inserted, the cast and crew used a cardboard cut-out they nicknamed 'Elvis', after Elvis Presley.
The Hulk's face was modelled on several different people — among them director Ang Lee, Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly.
Jennifer Connelly portrayed Betty Ross in this film. Liv Tyler, who had played Connelly's on-screen sister in Inventing the Abbotts (1997), later took on the role in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Nick Nolte agreed to appear in the film once Ang Lee said he intended it to evoke a Greek tragedy.
Eric Bana recalled that the scenes he shared with Nick Nolte were the most harrowing, yet also the most enjoyable.
Originally, the Hulk was intended to be realised as an animatronic figure.
Nick Nolte had always been the producers' first choice to take on the role of David Banner.
The graphical map of the military complex required three months' work to be fine-tuned.
The helicopters that attack the Hulk in the desert are RAH-66 Comanche helicopters. The aircraft he engages near the Golden Gate Bridge are F-22 Raptors. At the time of the film's release, neither type was in operational service with any branch of the United States military. The RAH-66 programme was later cancelled on 23 February 2004, and no Comanche helicopters ever entered operational service.
An early draft of the screenplay, penned by Jonathan Hensleigh in August 1997, depicted Bruce Banner conducting experiments on convicts with gamma-irradiated insect DNA, transforming them into insect-like men whom the Hulk subsequently battles.
For the dog-fight sequence, the trainer and the dogs were fitted with motion-capture suits.
Ang Lee has said the film helped prepare him for the computer-generated imagery in Life of Pi (2012).
Nick Nolte likened his role to King Lear, a man who believed himself betrayed by the world.
Eric Bana (Bruce Banner) and Sam Elliott (General Ross) were both born on 9 August.
(at around 1hr 38 mins) When the Hulk is fighting Abrams tanks, he tries to detach the top section (turret) of one tank; he inadvertently raises it too high and the tank's barrel strikes him in the groin.
Nick Nolte lost his voice during the filming of his climactic confrontation; production was halted to allow him time to recover.
At the time, the "Hulk-dogs" ranked among the most intricate creatures produced by Industrial Light & Magic; the poodle alone featured 1.5 million hairs.
The Hulk's starfish motif stems from director Ang Lee's wish to weave natural science into the Marvel Comics fantasy. 'Ang was keen to know: could this actually happen to a human being?' says producer Larry Franco. Accordingly, extensive research by an MIT scientist brought in jellyfish that turn green, sea cucumbers that develop thick, hard skin, and starfish capable of regeneration — all traits the Hulk shares.
According to producer and co-writer James Schamus, Nick Nolte would spend hours discussing philosophy whilst on set.
Sam Elliott featured in a separate Marvel film, Ghost Rider (2007).
Eric Bana said the work on the film was demanding, as the character undergoes extensive soul-searching; that sense of uncertainty is central to Bruce Banner's predicament.
According to animation director Colin Brady, Lily the poodle is the trio's sole female and a fidgety, hyperactive leader, Smokey the mastiff is a bear-like 'wrestler', and Sammy the pit bull is like a lion, "all about biting."
The Abrams tanks confronting the Hulk in the desert were actually ex‑British Army Chieftain tanks dressed up to represent Abrams. The replicas are very convincing and fairly hard to pick out. The Chieftain runs on six road wheels per side, while the Abrams has seven.
Nick Nolte accepted the part to "explore the darkness" alongside Ang Lee
CGI artists examined bodybuilders to inform the Hulk's muscular look. They modelled 1,165 distinct muscles for him.
An exchange of dialogue between Eric Bana and Sam Elliott was filmed across 150 takes before Ang Lee felt he had complete coverage.
In the comics, Bruce’s psychological problems and anger issues originate from his father Brian’s abusive behaviour towards him and his mother during his childhood. The mistreatment escalates so far that Brian, much like David in the film, unintentionally causes his wife’s death and is imprisoned. Years after his release, he visits his wife’s grave and finds Bruce — now a university student — paying his respects. An argument ensues, and when Brian attempts to attack and kill him, Bruce kills his father in self‑defence.
William Morris, a 19th-century illustrator, influenced the interior decoration of Betty's home. Morris played a part in shaping the modern fantasy genre. His work inspired J. R. R. Tolkien.
After the Hulk renders Talbot unconscious and leaps away, he causes a ripple in a puddle beside Talbot. According to Ang Lee, the shot is a tribute to Jurassic Park (1993), which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Eric Bana (as Bruce Banner) later collaborated with Spielberg on Munich (2005).
The film uses the word "Hulk" just once. Bruce utters it to Betty in the cabin following the scuffle with the dog.
Weeks before the film's release, a New Jersey man named Kerry Gonzalez obtained a copy of its workprint from a friend of an advertising agency employee and uploaded it online. Because it contained temporary music, unfinished CGI and unedited audio, those who watched the leaked workprint were highly critical of the film's incomplete version. Some studio executives later blamed the leak for the film's box-office failure. Following his arrest, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to piracy and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. In the years that followed, the leak has been regarded by many as one of the worst in Hollywood history.
This film was released ten years after Bill Bixby's death. He is chiefly remembered for portraying Dr David Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk (1977), which ran from 1978 to 1982 (five series and three television films). In the comics the character's name is Robert Bruce Banner, but the programme changed it to one of his aliases.
Ang Lee remarked that the opening montage serves much like an overture to an opera.
The novelisation indicates that the aftermath of the dog fight leaves Bruce and Betty with psychological trauma. Bruce is haunted by the realisation that he killed living creatures with his bare hands and by how much he appeared to enjoy it. Betty is traumatised by the Hulk covering her mouth and by watching him revel in his strength as he brutally slaughtered the mutated hounds. She pictures Bruce's hands and chest as those of the Hulk, imagining he might subject her to the same fate as the dogs and growing fearful of the Hulk's destructive potential.
Ang Lee declined the offer to direct 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)' in order to helm this film.
The computer-generated representation of the underground base took three months to complete. The production team constructed the bunker at Universal Studios in Burbank, California, on the world's seventh-largest soundstage.
Professional dog handlers worked with the dogs, using spoken and visual signals to keep them on their mark or to guide them from point A to point B.
The production's replica Gammasphere looked so authentic that practising scientists could not distinguish it from the real instrument.
When the Hulk made his comics debut, Betty Ross was merely a civilian — she wasn’t a scientist or a colleague of Bruce Banner. The 2003 film and The Incredible Hulk (2008) reimagined her as a scientist, and the comics were later altered to reflect that.
Contrary to popular belief, the film spawned a follow-up in the form of a tie-in video game, Hulk (2003), which was released simultaneously with the film. The game also generated a limited tie-in comic series titled "Hulk: Gamma Games". Generally well received and a best-seller, the game — together with successful merchandise sales — strengthened the case for Universal to green-light a potential 'Hulk 2', especially as the film itself only achieved modest box office success.
This is the second Marvel film to feature nudity in some form. The first Marvel film was Howard the Duck (1986). The Marvel films that followed this one are Blade: Trinity (2004), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), The Incredible Hulk (2008), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), Logan (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), respectively.
Ang Lee was approached to direct following the enormous success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
The unit insignia on General Ross' (Sam Elliott) uniform denotes the 7th Cavalry Division. It’s the same unit that his character, Sergeant Major Basil Plumley, served with in We Were Soldiers (2002).
Ang Lee at one point considered retiring from filmmaking after directing this film; he ultimately did not, and went on to win Academy Awards for Best Director for the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2012).
The concept artwork for the three dogs identifies the mastiff as 'Smokey', the French poodle as 'Lily' and the pit bull as 'Sammy'.
Ang Lee's long-time composer, Mychael Danna, wrote the original score, but Universal judged it too 'ethereal' and unsuitable for the picture, so their head of film music, Kathy Nelson, brought in Danny Elfman to redo the entire score. Elfman said: 'It was a very extreme situation. I wouldn't have even flown up there if it hadn't been for how much respect I have for Ang. I had this dreadful fear that he'd regard me as some Hollywood hack who'd come in and deliver a predictable action‑film score. After I watched the film I went home and spent the night having nightmares — and that was before I realised how little time I had to do it.'
A number of writers contributed to the film's screenplay, including Michael France, John Turman, Jonathan Hensleigh, Zak Penn, J.J. Abrams, the partnership of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Michael Tolkin, David Hayter and James Schamus. However, only France, Turman and Schamus received the final writing credit, as the finished film predominantly relied on their concepts. Penn later went on to write The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Eric Bana was "nervous and a little paranoid about getting the portrayal of Bruce right, and I recognised that the rest was beyond my control, which I was quite content with."
The storage units and the town were constructed specifically for the film in Victorville, California.
The film's first trailer featured a CGI Hulk that looked unconvincing, prompting some viewers to mockingly dub it 'Shrek on Steroids.' Producer Gale Anne Hurd later said she regretted issuing a trailer containing unfinished VFX and urged cinemagoers to see the finished picture on the big screen.
One deleted scene included a cameo by the then Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, appearing as himself and speaking to General Ross on the telephone.
According to Michael France, he rewrote the film's screenplay on three separate occasions.
Ang Lee paid tribute to the Hulk's early comic-book appearances by staging his first onscreen appearance at night, reflecting that in the comics he initially emerged only after dark.
It marked the first occasion on which a production shot scenes in the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, situated within the Sequoia National Forest, just outside Springville, California.
Ang Lee referred to the film as his "new Green Destiny" — a nod to the sword featured in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
The end credits do not name any actor as the voice of the Hulk, and the individual who provided the Hulk's voice in this film remains unconfirmed; reportedly, it was Ang Lee himself.
The helicopters were realised through CGI, but their designs were based on military models.
A young Bruce Banner is shown playing with a green stuffed dinosaur while David Banner has a monkey; David says, "You're big, green and scary and I'm going to run away." This subtly hints at David's hidden intentions, and the green dinosaur prefigures Bruce's later transformation into the Hulk.
In the director's commentary, Ang Lee says he wanted the dog-fight sequence to be extremely violent — the dogs are depicted as monsters, so the Hulk shouldn't hold back. In the novelisation and the official illustrated script, the Hulk disposes of the dogs in a different, more brutal way: snapping Sammy's back by leaping onto it from a great height; using an uprooted tree to slam Lily against/through Betty's windscreen; and squeezing Smokey's head and throat in his hands until his skull is crushed.
When Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk for a third time while being detained by the army in a water tank and attempts to break free, Talbot and his men briefly immobilise the Hulk with sticky foam — a real-world non-lethal weapon.
Amidst the rumours that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would return as their respective Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) (which ultimately proved accurate), Eric Bana was asked whether he would be willing to portray Bruce Banner again alongside Mark Ruffalo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bana replied that, in short, no — he never envisaged it as something he would reprise, and even after all this time he cannot picture it happening.
When creating the scene in which the Hulk meets David Banner, the animators drew on footage of a four-year-old boy as a reference to craft the Hulk's puzzled expression, a CGI shot that Colin Brady regards as one of the film's most successful CGI moments.
The poodle in the group made for a neat gag; besides, it appears in James Schamus's script. "It was funny — I think it looked more like a Doberman," shrugs Ang Lee, who used the creature as a nod to a particular young artiste. "The elongated ears were from my son's drawing."
Universal spent $2.1 million to produce and broadcast a 30-second advert that aired during Super Bowl XXXVII.
Incredible Hulk #14, published in 2000, served as the inspiration for the dog‑fight sequence. In that issue, General Ryker deploys a pack of enormous, gamma‑enhanced dogs to attack the Hulk.
As Ang Lee has revealed, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn sobbed to such an extent because she can't stand ice cream.
It was originally planned that the 'Hulk-dogs' would steam and melt upon death.
Ang Lee's commentary discloses that the bomb which levels the house where Bruce grew up is in fact a real-world weapon known as an FAE (fuel-air explosive).
Marit Allen designed Jennifer Connelly's wardrobe from "traditional American pieces, with a bohemian San Franciscan influence" to convey Betty's practical nature, physicality and femininity as well as natural elements. For Eric Bana, Allen kept the clothing very basic, making Bruce the film's 'everyman.' His wardrobe proved a particular challenge for Allen because she and her team had to make Bruce appear as "a scientist who spends much of his time at a computer or in a lab." They chose garments to disguise Bana's physique and favoured darker colours, chiefly blue.
Whether David Banner was genuinely remorseful for his actions is open to debate. His second encounter with Betty seems to suggest he was, yet his conduct throughout the remainder of the film implies his admission of guilt lacked sincerity. Bolstering this interpretation is Peter David's novelisation, which explicitly confirms that David is merely attempting to solicit sympathy.
In the film's closing scene, Bruce's eyes turn green — the only occasion prior to his transformation into the Hulk.
The Official Illustrated Screenplay indicates Lily the poodle would have sprung back to life after the Hulk hurled her through Betty's windscreen, partially clamping her jaws around Betty and slightly wounding her before dying. In the novelisation, the Hulk slams Lily's face flat against the windscreen. She returns from the brink of death and, in a final attack, lunges at Betty through the glass, but Betty pulls the seat release at the last moment as Lily's jaws close just above her before the dead dog dissolves away. After Bruce opens her door, Betty half-staggers out of her car and notices some blood smeared on him, only to realise it is her own, caused by cuts from the broken glass and scratches from Lily's claws.
Concept artwork shows the production team explored several dog breeds for the Hulk dogs, such as the German Shepherd.
This film represents the first occasion on which the Hulk is shown nude. The second instance occurs in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
According to the storyboards and the DVD commentary by Ang Lee, he initially intended the Hulk to be unclothed during the dog-fight sequence. However, Lee felt it would be difficult and impractical to retain the PG-13 rating, and the notion became ridiculous when they attempted to devise ways to cover the Hulk's modesty — it began to resemble an Austin Powers scene. Consequently, the Hulk wears boxer shorts during the fight but loses them when he kills Lily, leaving him naked afterwards.
The film never reveals what became of the former Berkeley Lab janitor Benny Goodman, though it implies that David murdered him to take the job. Peter David's novelisation confirms this: one night David went to Benny's house, set his dogs on the man, and appropriated Benny's ID and home for himself.
Betty and the Hulk make physical contact only once in the film. However, the novelisation and the official illustrated screenplay show that they initially had further interaction outside the cabin and later again in San Francisco. When Betty finds the Hulk in the woods she trips over a tree root as she backs away, but he catches her before she can fall. He then either sets her down on the ground or helps her back onto her feet, before lifting her and placing her on the roof of her car. As the Hulk-dogs approach, the Hulk covers Betty's mouth and holds her in a protective embrace. When the dogs arrive they immediately leap towards the pair, but the Hulk, still holding Betty, jumps to the other side of the car and either presses her against the door or places her inside. In San Francisco the Hulk drops to his knees and cries as he watches Betty approach. He recoils when she comes within arm's reach. Betty moves closer, strokes his face and makes gentle "shh" noises to soothe him, much like a mother calming her child.
The mutant rat on which David conducts experiments is in fact a small dog in a rat suit, and the idea originated with Jerry Moss.
In the film Hulk (2003), the Hulk grows larger the angrier he becomes, paying homage to the comics that portrayed him at varying heights according to the artist and which incarnation of the Hulk appears.
When Jennifer Connelly first learnt of the film and spoke with Ang Lee, he characterised it as a psychological drama examining Bruce and Betty's relationships with their fathers, juxtaposed against comic-book elements.
Ang Lee disclosed in his director's commentary that prop master Jerry Moss built the DNA-extraction drill Talbot employs whilst attempting to obtain a sample of the Hulk, whereas Lee devised the M2 timed explosive.
Marit Allen opted for jersey fabric for the Hulk's purple shorts to accommodate his growth spurts, so the garments could stretch and tear without completely falling apart as the Hulk increased in size.
In the second draft of Michael France's screenplay, a mishap at Gamma Base exposes Bruce, his colleague Samuel Sterns and a third man named Curtis to gamma radiation, with Bruce rescuing Talbot in the process. The three gradually begin to exhibit signs of mutation. After transforming into the Hulk, Bruce goes on the run with Betty. Meanwhile, the mutating Sterns carries out experiments on former Air Force operative Carl Creel, turning him into the Absorbing Man. As he persists with his experiments, Sterns devises a scheme to wipe out more than half of Earth's population to spare humanity from annihilation and allow the world to be rebuilt, with himself leading the survivors.
Bruce lifting the child-version of Betty in her dream and placing her on the table echoes the moment when the Hulk lifts her in the cabin and puts her atop her car before the dog brawl, a detail confirmed by Ang Lee's commentary. In the illustrated screenplay and Peter David's novelisation, Bruce also covers Betty's mouth in that dream; the Hulk later repeats the gesture when he senses the Hulk-dogs approaching. She struggles briefly, fearing he might strangle her, but he seems unaware.
Ang Lee was convinced that Eric Bana would be the ideal choice for the leading role after witnessing his brutal turn in Chopper (2000).
This film was the first to employ CGI and motion-capture technology to depict the Hulk.
Nick Nolte and Jennifer Connelly co-starred in Mulholland Falls (1996). The pair later reunited for Noah (2014).
Jennifer Connelly caught Ang Lee's attention after he viewed her performance in Requiem for a Dream (2000), which James Schamus believed demonstrated Connelly's capacity to fearlessly "mine treacherous emotions" and that she could portray Betty as an intelligent, independent scientist in her own right, as brilliant as Bruce — if not brighter.
As Betty steps out of her cabin, shortly before she finds him, you can just about hear the Hulk breathing.
Death toll: 8
KNB constructed oversized model heads for the Hulk dogs.
The film opens by establishing the atmosphere of genetic experimentation, showing the dissection of creatures such as a starfish, a sea cucumber and a lizard. There are also close-up shots of a monkey's paw and other primates, one of which appears to be given an injection of a suspicious fluid. The animals that look as if they're being harmed were actually special-effects creations — for example, a fake syringe was used on the capuchin. Live animals were provided and looked after by professional trainers.
Originally, Talbot met a more gruesome end, as set out in the illustrated script and in Peter David's novelisation. He is said to have employed either an automatic firearm or armour-piercing rounds against the Hulk. Talbot opens fire as the Hulk, having broken free of the sticky foam, swells up to fill the corridor; the shots simply glance off him and ricochet, and stray rounds riddled Talbot.
This film was the third and final Marvel film to be released in 2003. Earlier that year Marvel had released Daredevil (2003) and X2: X-Men United (2003), respectively.
Sam Elliott said he regarded his performance as akin to his depiction of Basil L. Plumley in We Were Soldiers (2002).
The second draft of the script from February 2000, by Michael France, differs in several respects:
- Betty (renamed Betty Garrett) is working in a hospital.
- Betty and Bruce are in their twenties.
- Talbot is a major operating under General Ross.
- Samuel Sterns becomes the Leader.
- Carl Creel becomes the Absorbing Man.
- Bruce and Betty go on the run.
- More scenes centred on Betty and the Hulk.
- A scene that features the Grey Hulk.
The screenplay contains moments of body horror, humour, additional action sequences and pop-culture references. There are also nods to the comics:
- Bruce's full name.
- "Tales to Astonish."
- Gamma Base.
- Bruce's abusive father.
- Bruce's fear that he shares his father's temper.
- Bruce contemplating suicide to rid himself of the Hulk.
- Sequences showing the Hulk as a "monster hero" (both threatening and saving people).
The gamma sphere carried over into the final film (although in the script it is 50 ft across and hung from the ceiling), as did the Hulk fighting the Army in the desert and his growing taller as his rage increases. Bruce and Betty fleeing the Army, and a sequence of Bruce falling from a great height to force a transformation — with the Hulk's hand emerging from a crater — later appeared in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
According to visual effects supervisor Colin Brady, this was the first occasion on which ILM permitted its artists to choose between two animation platforms: their customary Maya and Softimage 3.9. He explained it formed part of treating the CG Hulk as a genuine actor and of letting animators work on the platform they felt most at ease with.
There was considerable fuss over the film's dramatic second-week box-office slump — a 71% fall, dropping from $62 million in its opening week to just $19 million in the second. Less widely known is that another picture did even worse that same weekend — From Justin to Kelly (2003) fell 77% over the same period.
On his commentary track, Ang Lee reveals that Bruce's second on-screen transformation into the Hulk was among the earliest shots ILM tackled for the film, yet it ended up being the final one they completed because it is an on-screen Hulk sequence.
The film's only song, 'Set Me Free', was recorded by Velvet Revolver, a line-up that included Scott Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner. Weiland later provided vocals either as Velvet Revolver's frontman or as a solo artist on tracks for two other Marvel films — Fantastic Four (2005) and The Avengers (2012), respectively. For the Fantastic Four (2005) soundtrack, Velvet Revolver contributed 'Come On, Come In'. For The Avengers (2012) soundtrack, Weiland performed 'Breathe' as a solo artist.
Rick Heinrichs studied photographs of NORAD for reference when designing Desert Base. NORAD, standing for 'North American Aerospace Defence Command', is a joint US/Canadian organisation tasked with protecting North America from aerial and space threats.
General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross ultimately becomes the Red Hulk in the comics. Similarly, his daughter and Bruce Banner/Hulk's romantic partner, Betty Ross, later becomes the Red She-Hulk. Bruce's cousin, Jennifer Walters, is already She-Hulk and has a green Hulk form comparable to his.
According to the Illustrated Screenplay, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) developed a real-time pre-visualisation tool prior to the start of filming that helped Ang Lee and the crew gain a clearer idea of how to shoot the Hulk in real-world environments.
At around 1 hr 19 mins Bruce tells Betty he may have seen or known her as a child. The novelisation confirms he encountered her after David Banner killed Edith — Bruce spotted Betty outside his house through a window following Ross’s arrest of David.
According to visual effects supervisor Colin Brady, the trained attack dogs in motion-capture suits accounted for about 30% of the dog-fight sequence, with the remainder realised through keyframe animation — although by the finish the workload was roughly split down the middle.
Nick Nolte and Bill Bixby, the latter best known for starring in The Incredible Hulk (1977), both featured in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976).
In the film, Betty recognises the Hulk as Bruce almost straight away, but the illustrated screenplay and the novelisation portray it differently. The script records her noticing something familiar in the Hulk's face; yet in the novelisation she only begins to work the clues out during the dogfight and comes to the realisation afterwards.
(at around 12 minutes) Betty's opening line is that she has found Bruce. Later, after she calms the Hulk and he reverts to Bruce in San Francisco (at around 1 hour 54 minutes), he tells Betty that she found him, mirroring her original line.
Per the Official Illustrated Screenplay and the Peter David novelisation, the Hulk's confrontation with the 'Hulk-dogs' ran a little longer.
Josh Lucas and Jennifer Connelly both appeared in the film A Beautiful Mind (2001).
General Ross serves as the binding element that brings together the principal characters — David, Bruce, Betty and Talbot.
Bruce, steaming and perspiring from every pore as he reverts to normal, resembles someone shedding a few pounds — that is, he’s losing the extra mass he carried as the Hulk. He briefly shrinks in time with Betty’s eyeline as she slowly makes her way down the steps towards him in San Francisco. In a way, he’s dropping down to Betty’s level.
The tie-in novels expand on Betty Ross's theory that Bruce Banner's emotional trauma is what drives his transformations, and they spell out how that notion could become truly alarming. She argues that Bruce's anger sets off the nanomeds in his body — despite their role being to react to physical injury — which leads his cells to release vast amounts of energy. Emotions are limitless and cannot be quantified like bodily wounds, so there is no guarantee Bruce's rage will ever stop and thereby trigger a runaway chain reaction. Furthermore, the Hulk's strength in the story is essentially boundless and tied to his emotions, and here his tallest stated height is 15 ft. It is also plausible that the Hulk's mass increases to match his rising strength, meaning that if he became enraged enough at that size, he might continue to grow. Picture the novelisation's worst‑case example: a King Kong‑sized Hulk clutching a screaming beauty. Betty's idea also goes a long way to explaining why the Hulk is so powerful in this film compared with his other cinematic incarnations.
Eric Bana was at one point considered to portray Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (2007), before the part ultimately went to Nicolas Cage. Additionally, Sam Elliott was in contention to play J. Jonah Jameson in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), but the character was later cut.
David Hayter's draft of the screenplay included The Leader, Zzzax and the Absorbing Man as villains. Ultimately, traits from all three were combined into the character of David Banner. The Leader had also been intended to appear in the cancelled sequel, and he eventually made his film debut in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
Although the film met with a mixed response that almost derailed director Ang Lee's career, Lee nonetheless went on to direct Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2012).
The very first shot after the Universal Pictures and Marvel Enterprises logos shows a droplet of water falling from the camera into a black void, which then detonates into a vast sweep of stars and nebulae reminiscent of the Big Bang. At the same time, a split-screen sequence depicts a rudimentary single-celled organism evolving into a fully formed creature under the study of Dr David Banner. These two sequences symbolise creation on macro- and micro-cosmic scales; and given that the film is described as a 'proto-prequel' — according to Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige — to The Incredible Hulk (2008), the second instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it can be seen as technically marking the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself.
In several other scenes in the film, reptiles appear either in aquariums, in laboratories, or on a character's hat in a Third World country's jungle. A professional trainer, specialising in reptiles, snakes and insects, supplied and handled these exotic animals. Among the notable species seen in the film are a Blue Tongue Skink, a Savanna Monitor, an Albino Python, a Rhino Iguana and a Water Monitor. Animal performers provided by professional trainers were also used in other laboratory scenes and placed around the set to create background atmosphere. Again, the production employed a range of other animals, including rats, mice, rabbits and guinea pigs.
The film never explains the nanomeds outright; however, it’s possible to infer that they are nanomachines intended for medical use. Bruce and Betty make a considerable fuss about putting them before a review board, but that presentation never actually happens. A deleted scene portrays the meeting, providing a detailed account of the nanomeds — their purpose and why experiments with them keep failing: they retain their orders to destroy and repair damaged cells too well. The presentation also clarifies what Betty meant when she snarked that Bruce sounded "almost passionate" about microbes and nanomeds; he launches into an extended monologue that wins over the board members.
Eric Bana opted to take part in the film because he was a fan of the Hulk, as were Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte.
The animators at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) initially explored using motion capture to animate the entire dogfight sequence.
As an Asian filmmaker, director Ang Lee said he related to Bruce Banner's 'underlying repression', explaining: 'My upbringing in Taiwan makes my interest in these sorts of stories very personal. Growing up, my artistic impulses were often suppressed — there was constant pressure to pursue something "useful", such as becoming a doctor.'
During the early stages of developing the Hulk's facial expressions, Ang Lee dismissed several models for bearing too close a resemblance to Kurt Russell and David Hasselhoff.
Upon close inspection of Lily just before the Hulk hurls her body away, her form briefly vapourises and her lower eyelid sags, though the reason for this is unclear. It appears to be a detail drawn from the books and an early version of the screenplay, which portray the dogs as steaming and dissolving into puddles after death. This might suggest that the dogs' mutant DNA is unstable, and that severe bodily damage causes their tissues to come apart.
Rhiannon Leigh Wryn's first appearance on film.
Director Ang Lee and producer Gale Anne Hurd each worked separately with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Hurd collaborated with Bruckheimer on Armageddon (1998), while Lee teamed up with him on Gemini Man (2019).
Although Betty survives thanks to the Hulk's intervention, David still achieves his aims from the incident in two ways. First, he taunts Bruce that the Hulk is part of him, whether he likes it or not, and deep down even Bruce cannot help savouring his strength once it is unleashed — what better way to prove that than by endangering the woman Bruce loves. Given the Hulk's unbridled fury during the fight, Bruce's post‑fight reaction mentioned above, and his later admission to Betty that he enjoyed losing control, Bruce inadvertently validates his father's claim. Second, Bruce asks Betty why David would want him to change into the Hulk. Earlier David told Bruce of his plan to harvest the Hulk's power, but the novelisation reveals another motive for targeting Betty. He shows no concern for his dogs when they fail to return from their assault on her, indifferent to their deaths because they proved the Hulk was strong enough to beat them alone, exceeding David's expectations. Although they did not succeed in killing Betty, David regards the mission as a success nonetheless, since the dogs served their true purpose: testing the Hulk's strength.
The film gives the impression that Bruce kept his emotions in check until the gammasphere accident, suggesting this was due to a repressed memory of his mother's death. Yet Edith tells her friend Kathleen that Bruce has always been "bottled up". The novelisation makes clear that David is to blame. When Bruce is three, Edith catches David drawing a blood sample from him; David snatches the hypodermic syringe from Bruce's arm, causing him to wail in pain. Seeing parts of Bruce's body contort again causes Edith to faint and Bruce's crying to stop. Seizing the opportunity, David points at Edith and gaslights Bruce, accusing him of hurting her by acting out. He then loads Bruce with guilt, warning that next time Edith might die and it will be Bruce's fault if he loses his temper again. David tells Bruce to suppress his anger whenever it surfaces unless he wants worse things to happen. Those words become lodged in Bruce's mind, which explains why he later doesn't stand up to the bully Jack and grows up somewhat emotionally stunted. After the gammasphere accident, all of Bruce's suppressed emotions are finally released.
It was the first Marvel film to be directed by an Asian filmmaker (in this case Ang Lee), and remained the sole example until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and Eternals (2021), which were directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and Chloé Zhao, respectively.
The film is set within the Earth-400083 incarnation of the Marvel Comics multiverse.
Cinematographer Frederick Elmes collaborated with director Ang Lee on the 1997 film The Ice Storm (1997).
The film's cast features one Academy Award winner, Jennifer Connelly, alongside two Academy Award nominees, Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte.
When first unleashed, the Hulk often smashes through walls and trips awkwardly, but he becomes more adept as the film progresses. Because he grows in size with his rage, ILM produced three differently sized Hulk models that Ang Lee likened to the three stages of human development: infant, adolescent and adult — the inexperienced newborn Hulk, unaccustomed to his bulk and strength, is first seen in the laboratory; a dog fight sequence features the teenage Hulk coming into his abilities; and the remainder of the film presents the adult Hulk fully in command of his power. Dividing the Hulk into these phases gives him a kind of subtle, understated character development.
Jennifer Connelly, who plays Dr. Betty Ross in the film, had earlier co-starred with William Hurt in Dark City (1998). Hurt subsequently portrayed General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Nick Nolte later went on to portray a comparable shape-shifting character in The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008).
Eric Bana and Josh Lucas have both, independently, starred in two Wolfgang Petersen films. Bana appears in Troy (2004), while Lucas features in Poseidon (2006).
Screenwriter John Turman said the notion of a computer-generated Hulk had been under development since the mid-1990s, inspired by the success of Jurassic Park (1993). He recalled, "I began as a storyboard artist and I remember at my early meetings with [producer] Gale Hurd I turned up with a few sketches even though I was only the writer. I know we had numerous discussions about the Hulk's appearance. I always pictured him as CGI layered over the actor. I just felt that, in this day and age, painting a bodybuilder green would be very difficult. I recall that in an early outline I described the Hulk as more like a dinosaur from 'Jurassic Park' than a bodybuilder. I had always wanted that thick, big-limbed, force-of-nature look to it."
The dogfight portrays Lily, the French poodle, as arguably the cleverest of the three dogs, making her the most formidable. Supplementary material presents Lily as the leader of the dog trio, with Sammy and Smokey acting as the muscle, which explains why they hold off attacking Betty and Hulk until Lily gives the signal and why, as David ordered, only she goes after Betty. Lily’s status as leader, together with the novel’s note that the mutation made the dogs more intelligent, accounts for her moments of near-human cunning: she threatens Betty only when Hulk is occupied with the other two. Lily’s groin attack on Hulk further demonstrates her craftiness; it reads like a planned manoeuvre. Spotting and exploiting an opportunity to injure Hulk, she targets a sensitive area that will inflict intense pain while he is distracted so he cannot prevent it. She even growls wickedly before slipping away to menace Betty and bite Hulk in the crotch, suggesting a sadistic relish in frightening and harming them. Lily’s intelligence may also be the film’s way of indicating that in some animal species — hyenas, elephants, etc. — dominant females can be smarter and more vicious than the males.
Joe Rogan's dog "Johnny Cash" is descended from one of the Hulk Dogs seen in the film The Hulk (2003). Rogan, an avid fan of The Hulk, said on a podcast that the Regency Mastiff was "just so chilled" — a clear contrast to its on-screen Hulk Dog appearance.
This film is the fourth superhero picture for which Danny Elfman composed the score. Prior to this, Elfman scored Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992) and Spider-Man (2002). Subsequent films to feature his music include Spider-Man 2 (2004), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Justice League (2017) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Jennifer Connelly's husband, Paul Bettany, later went on to voice J.A.R.V.I.S. (the computer voice) in the Iron Man trilogy and to portray Vision among the Avengers.
Certain tie-in books for the film and an early draft of the screenplay indicate that it starts raining after the dog fight, washing away the blood, the gore and the dogs' dissolved corpses. So, apart from some fallen trees (though trees can fall of their own accord) and Betty's damaged car, almost no evidence of a battle remains. That would make it difficult for Betty and Bruce to explain to others what had happened, let alone to persuade anyone to believe them.
Together with Howard the Duck (1986), the 2003 film Hulk is one of only two films based on Marvel Comics that are owned by Universal Studios.
The characters listed below appear in the film and were adapted from comic books:
- Robert Bruce Banner / The Hulk — credited onscreen as Bruce Banner or The Hulk. He first appeared in the comic tale "The Hulk" in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
- Elizabeth "Betty" Ross — referred to onscreen as Betty Ross. Her debut was in the comic story "The Hulk" from The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
- General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross — billed onscreen as General Thunderbolt Ross. He first appeared in the comic tale "The Hulk" from The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
- Glenn Talbot — who first appeared in the story "Captured At Last!" in Tales to Astonish #61 (November 1964), written by Stan Lee with art by Steve Ditko.
- David Banner — renamed from the comic-book character Brian Banner. The character originally debuted in the story "What a Day for a Daydream!" in Incredible Hulk #267 (October 1981), by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema.
Only the creators responsible for each character's initial appearances are listed above. As is common with comic-book characters, the Hulk and his supporting cast have undergone multiple reinventions and have received contributions from various writers. Different iterations across media have introduced additional concepts to the characters' overall mythology.
Screenwriter James Schamus began developing a sequel that was scheduled for release in 2005. The Leader and Abomination were intended to be the antagonists, and Bruce Banner was to transform into the Grey Hulk, an alternate Hulk persona. Universal missed the filming deadline, and Marvel reacquired the rights to the Hulk in 2006. Marvel then produced The Incredible Hulk (2008), which functioned as a soft reboot while still borrowing elements from the 2003 film and establishing the Hulk within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although Marvel owns the Hulk's creative rights, Universal continues to retain the distribution rights, and the studios have yet to collaborate on another standalone Hulk film.
The director Ang Lee achieved his greatest domestic box-office takings with this film.
When he first meets Betty, David tells her the lab's former janitor, Benny, is dead; it is plain that David killed Benny and assumed his identity. The film likewise fails to explain how David managed to acquire a house and a job after being released from a psychiatric hospital with a record. The novelisation reveals that one night David turned up at Benny's home, set his hounds on him and stole the man's ID and house for himself, leaving the property to rot into the decrepit, unrecognisable state seen in the film. The book also reveals that Talbot organised David's discharge from the hospital, among other things.
Marvel Comics released a comic-book adaptation penned by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Mark Bagley.
"Bruce Banner" was among several alliterative names Stan Lee devised for his characters. Lee acknowledged that employing this technique made the names easier for him to recall.
The dogfight sequence was originally laid out across some 200 storyboarded shots. In the finished film only about a quarter of that original plan remains, because filming the full version was estimated to cost approximately $15–$16 million by itself, making it prohibitively expensive.
While some viewers felt a little uneasy on his behalf because the scene was particularly vulnerable and emotional for his character, Eric Bana later said he had no qualms about appearing nude.
After Bruce rescues Harper and is exposed to gamma radiation, the colour purple begins to appear in several of the subsequent scenes. It's a nod to how the Hulk almost invariably wore purple trousers in the comic books.
The Hulk-dogs stand at approximately 6 ft tall and measure roughly 10 ft in length.
The trailer features a short excerpt from the nude scene.
At the time, this represented Universal's widest release, opening in 3,660 theatres.
Early in the laboratory sequence leading up to his first Hulk-out, as Bruce Banner's pent-up anger and frustrations start to surface, he grimaces and briefly places his hands at the sides of his temples as if in pain. Similarly, in the intro to the 1960s Hulk cartoon, Bruce Banner swiftly turns his back on the audience and is briefly shown placing his hands at his temples as he transforms into the Hulk.
Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte were the only principal cast members still living when The Hulk made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #1 in 1962.
Both Nick Nolte and Paul Kersey, who portrayed the older and younger incarnations of David Banner, each appeared as a son of James Coburn — Nolte in Affliction (1997) and Kersey in Missing Pieces (2000).
Michael Anthony Jackson's storyboard artwork portrays the dogs as slightly larger than they appear in the film. According to ILM, the finished versions of the dogs were roughly the size of large horses.
