Captain America Not in Incredible Hulk After All

As we reported last weekend, Captain America was at one time slated to make an appearance in this weekend’s The Incredible Hulk film, thus tying the Hulk franchise to the forthcoming Captain America film franchise, and also, reportedly to the Iron Man film franchise.

spoilers ahead

But he’s not.

In an interview with G4, director Louis Leterrier said that a Captain America cameo was in the film, something which those who’ve seen early screeners were not able to confirm. In speaking to SOS Hollywood, Leterrier confirmed that Cap has been removed from the final cut of the film. According to the director, Bruce Banner heads to the Arctic Circle in a Frankenstein-esque trek to kill himself. Footage of “Bruce of the North” has indeed been seen in the trailers for the film. The segment of the film was, according to Leterrier, very dark, and thus, to make the film more suited for younger audiences (Hulk is rated PG-13), it was cut. Thing is, that portion of the film contained the Captain America sequence.

“Having that said, when Bruce arrives at his destination he meets up with Captain America!,” Leterrier told SOS Hollywood. “At some point this week, we will make it available on the internet – but I cannot tell you where or when – and the material will definitely be on the DVD.”

Meanwhile, as the latest Hulk television spot has revealed, Tony Stark (as Robert Downey Jr.) does appear in the film, conferring with General Thunderbolt Ross.

So what does this mean for the building of Marvel's "Avengers" film franchise and its intent of building a cohesive universe of superhero films? Probably nothing. Future films can easily refer back to the Hulk/Bruce Banner as they come out, and, as we saw in <i>Iron Man</I>, worlds of content, continiuty and connection can be transmitted via Easter Eggs.