New Rumor: No Ed Norton as the Hulk in The Avengers movie

The word is Ed Norton won't be back as the Hulk in The Avengers movie.

HitFix has the scoop:

How much of a reaction do you think there would be if Marvel introduced Joss Whedon as the official director of "The Avengers," something that they've been refusing to confirm ever since the rumors first broke?


And how much of a reaction would there be if he walked out onstage to personally introduce The Avengers?

Imagine that. "Ladies and gentlemen, you all know Tony Stark..." and there's Robert Downey Jr. "Of course, you know Nick Fury..." and there's Samuel L. Jackson. "I'd like to introduce you to two more of our team members, Thor..." and out walks Chris Hemsworth. "... and Captain America..." and then Chris Evans joins everyone else onstage. "... and, of course, the jolly green giant himself, The Hulk!"

And then some guy no one's ever seen walks out. And he is decidedly not Edward Norton.

Does that make sense to anyone else?

Because right now... that's the plan. After all the careful groundwork that Marvel Studios has laid the last few years, and after the way they've built this great cast film after film, they're going to make a colossal misstep at the finish line. According to Marvel sources, the company has decided that they are going to cast "an unknown" to play Bruce Banner and The Hulk in the film.

I remember hearing that Ed didn't want to be Bruce again, however he did meet with Joss and it seemed to go well.

So, what happened?

I guess I will learn more at Comic Con.