It’s a very exciting time to be a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With ‘Daredevil’ being a hit on Netflix, business picking up on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ hitting theaters in two weeks, True Believers have a lot to be excited about. However, if you’re a Hulk fan, we have some troubling news for you.

Ever since Mark Ruffalo’s version of Bruce Banner stole the show in ‘The Avengers’, there has been resurgence in popularity for the Jade Giant. Rumors have been circulating about a sequel to ‘The Incredible Hulk’ starring Ruffalo since then, but these reports that named ‘Planet Hulk’ or ‘Indestructible Hulk’ as potential solo film ideas were either squashed or brushed off. But now, we have the real reason as to why we can’t see a solo Hulk film just yet.

While speaking to Collider about his next appearance in the MCU alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Ruffalo revealed that he’s not sure about the next time we’ll see the Hulk on the big screen post ‘Age of Ultron’. After clarifying that he’s unsure about showing up ‘Captain America: Civil War’, the actor shared that a Hulk film isn’t in the cards yet because Marvel Studios doesn’t fully have the necessary rights to make that happen:

“As far as a Hulk movie, a standalone Hulk movie, Marvel doesn’t really have the rights to that yet. That’s still Universal’s property, so there’s that issue. That’s a big impediment to moving forward with that. Now I don’t think that’s insurmountable, by the way, but I don’t know where it’s going from here for me.”

We don’t know any details beyond that, but this problem is likely very different from the Spider-Man situation that sees the House of Ideas essentially leasing the character from Sony Pictures for use in the MCU. Instead, it sounds like the logistics of distribution that are holding things up. According to Ruffalo, Universal holds the distribution rights for a solo Hulk movie. That probably doesn’t sit well with Marvel’s parent company Walt Disney Pictures, who currently distribute MCU projects.

While it’s a huge bummer that a solo Hulk movie is being met with some roadblocks, it’s important to note that the character isn’t completely out of play. After starring in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, it’s almost certain that he’ll show up again in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Also, there’s that rumor that he could be appearing alongside another Marvel team in the near future, but that’s unconfirmed. Either way, we probably haven’t seen the last of the Incredible Hulk.

What do you think about this whole Hulk situation? Are you disappointed that we can’t have a solo film starring Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner for the time being? Let us know in the comments below.