See Matthew McConaughey As The Incredible Hulk
An Instagram artist has visualized what Matthew McConaughey would look like in the role that got away from him: Bruce Banner.
While there have been rumors for years that Matthew McConaughey might join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they have been nothing but rumors. Yet after a recent interview with the Oscar-winning actor, one artist visualized what McConaughey would look like in the role that got away from him: Bruce Banner.
Digital artist ApexForm on Instagram has posted two images imagining Matthew McConaughey in the role of Bruce Banner. The first is McConaughey as the more subdued Banner, taking images of current Banner, Mark Ruffalo, from The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron and replacing him with McConaughey in shots.
The second image shows Matthew McConaughey as Bruce Banner seemingly turning into the Hulk, as McConaughey is wearing a lab coat, but now with green eyes. While the Hulk looms behind McConaughey, the iconic green monster doesn’t look much different than how we have seen him when portrayed by Eric Bana or Mark Ruffalo.
This fan casting comes after an interview with Matthew McConaughey for his new book, Greenlights. In the interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz asked McConaughey if he had ever thrown his hat into the ring to play Bruce Banner and the Hulk. However, McConaughey said that after suggesting his interest to Marvel, the studio said “No, thank you.”
While surely Marvel would love for Matthew McConaughey to now be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s understandable why the company would’ve said no to the actor. After the failure of 2003’s Ang Lee-directed Hulk, Marvel was clearly careful with the character, as they were trying to build the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even casting Mark Ruffalo for the new Hulk in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk seemed like a strange choice, considering the actor’s penchant for indie dramas like You Can Count on Me and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
But casting Matthew McConaughey at the time would’ve been an even more insane proposition. At the time, McConaughey was the 2000s go-to actor for romantic comedies, while McConaughey found success with films like 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and 2006’s Failure to Launch, it’s understandable why Marvel might not be wary of casting the famous rom-com actor for a bulging mass of anger.
Over the years, Marvel has considered Matthew McConaughey for various other projects, most notably courting him to be a part of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Instead, McConaughey decided to make The Dark Tower. But when asked why he turned down Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, McConaughey hinted that he didn’t just want to be a big-name actor thrown into a role that could be done by anyone. At least playing the Hulk would give him a dual role to play with.
Yet considering how Marvel and Matthew McConaughey have been circling each other for years now, and since the Marvel Cinematic Universe is always looking to add new big names to their roster, it seems only a matter of time before McConaughey is thrown in with Marvel. It may not be for Hulk, since Mark Ruffalo shows no sign of stepping down any time soon, but it’ll certainly be for a role that suits McConaughey’s talents.
