by Duran Rivera

The departure of Edward Norton from the Hulk and the Avengersfranchise is sad news to many who truly cherished his performance. When Ireceived the news, it came as a shock to me. It shouldn’t have becausethere was so much talk about his struggles with the Execs at MarvelStudios. I thought to myself though that it would get worked out. Theywould recognize how big a piece and how much of a catch he really is as atalent. I guess I was wrong.

After receiving the news though, I can say this is not a totalshocker, after Norton bailed out of the publicity tour for The IncredibleHulk film, you can see where the contentious relationship was going.

Marvel issued a press release saying they won’t bring back EdwardNorton as the Green Behemoth and explained their reasons why:

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back toportray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Ourdecision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but insteadrooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity andcollaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. TheAvengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, asevidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of ourtalented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfillsthese requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in thecoming weeks.”

The key statement by Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios, was when he saidthat Norton wasn’t picked up as Bruce Banner because they needed:

“an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborativespirit of our other talented cast members,”

In my opinion that comment left an unnecessary black eye on theAvengers movie and also left Norton and his representative inclined torespond. Norton’s rep ended up replying saying:

Norton’s agent, Brian Swardstrom of WME has justresponded with the following statement:

“This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is apurposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in anegative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called meand said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in TheAvengers. He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward onstage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of theconvention. When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea,Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with JossWhedon to discuss the project. Edward and Joss had a very goodmeeting (confirmed by Feige to me) at which Edward said he wasenthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast.Marvel subsequently made him a financial offer to be in the film andboth sides started negotiating in good faith. This past Wednesday,after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before wehad come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to saythey had decided to go in another direction with the part. Thisseemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it iscompletely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with nohard feelings.

We know a lot of fans have voiced their publicdisappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige’s meanspirited, accusatory comments. Counter to what Kevin implies here,Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and theother actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personalfriends of his. Feige’s statement is unprofessional, disingenuous andclearly defamatory. Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic andprofessional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel’s fans.

Ouch!!!!

Then not long after Norton as a gesture to his fans made hisstatement on the Facebook website:

This Avengers film was not just a special cinematic event in terms ofseeing our favorite super-heroes coming together for the first time onthe big screen, but this was suppose to be a who’s who of super starscoming together playing out their franchise characters together on thebig screen. There was suppose to be nothing like it and still it seemslike it is developing into something we’ve never seen. But thatanticipation and that magic surrounding it took a big hit with the lossof Mr. Norton.

The Hitflix article summed it up wonderfully when theysaid

“Avengers assemble” is more than just a nifty slogan for aball cap.  It’s a call to arms for a one-of-a-kind movie event. Please… treat it that way.  The rewards will be worth the effort.

I know I’m not alone in feeling this, that there is still a smallpart of me that’s hopeful of both sides coming together and working thisout. If they could both understand that they both could use each otherand bring together something unique and memorable. The opportunity ofhaving a film that’s more like a transcendent event then anything elseis too awesome to pass up. It seems though, more and more that maybethat is a pipe dream. That ship has sailed.

“TheAvengers” is set to open on Friday, May 4, 2012.

What do you think about this? Do you think Avengers is better offwithout him? Do you think Marvel Dropped the ball? Let us know.

Source: HitFlix

Duran R.