Many MCU fans were surprised by the announcement thatThe Incredible HulkcharacterThe Leader will be returning to the MCUinCaptain America: New World Order. It appears that his return could have happened sooner, as the character played by Tim Blake Nelson was at one point set to be reunited with Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She-Hulk creator Jessica Gao recently revealed that The Leader was certainly part of her original series pitch, but she couldn’t recall the circumstances that led to him being cut.
Over the last few years, it has been clear thatMarvel Studios have been attempting to bring their 2008 movieThe Incredible Hulkcloser to the MCU. Of course, the movie was the second film released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but with the franchise being in its early days and due to many rights issues surrounding the character of the Hulk, the film was produced by Universal Pictures and has always seemed like a wayward child in the chronology of the MCU, not least for the fact that when Bruce Banner returned again, he was played by Mark Ruffalo rather than Edward Norton.
Now it seems that The Leader’s upcomingCaptain America 4appearance could have potentially not been his return to the franchise. Gao explained toComicbook.com:
“In my original pitch, I did have The Leader in there. Just as an option, as a suggestion, you know? But really, I can’t remember why [it was scrapped]. I don’t remember if it was organically taken out, because we just came up with other stuff, or if we were told no. I honestly don’t remember. But there was thought about either bringing him back or doing some version of a new version of Leader, or some relation to him. But, I mean truly, this was three years ago, and the show has evolved so much that I don’t remember what actually happened.”
Related:Did She-Hulk’s Intelligencia Reference Reveal The Leader?
The Leader Will Reunite With Thunderbolt Ross inCaptain America 4
Marvel Studios has previously used very few characters fromThe Incredible Hulk, with only William Hurt’s General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross making a number of appearances in the franchise in movies such asCaptain America: Civil War, and most recently in 2021’sBlack Widow. However, the passing of Hurt earlier this year has led to the role being recast, with Harrison Ford taking over the part.While Ford will seemingly make his debut inCaptain America: New World Order, he will be joined by Nelson’s the Leader, although currently, both of their roles are shrouded in mystery.
Despite The Leader’sShe-Hulkappearance having been trimmed out of the series at some point, the idea that he could have appearedwith Roth’s Blonskyis another sign of Marvel continuing to make sure thatThe Incredible Hulkdoesn’t become a forgotten element of the MCU’s history. For those who want to find out how The Leader’s story began,The Incredible Hulkis currently streaming on HBO Max.
