Why Is The Incredible Hulk Not On Disney Plus?

incredible hulk not on disney plus

If you’re a fan of the Hulk, you might have been disappointed that it isn’t yet available on Disney Plus. While most of the MCU films have been added to the streaming service, the 2008 film starring Edward Norton hasn’t been included. This is because the movie was co-produced by Universal Pictures and distributed by them. Until Disney reaches an agreement with Universal, the movie isn’t likely to be on the service.

The Incredible Hulk follows scientist Bruce Banner, who is exposed to gamma radiation while conducting an experiment. This causes him to transform into the green-skinned monstrous Hulk. He becomes a fugitive as he searches for a cure and is pursued by General Ross and his army. As the Hulk, he battles various villains and even fights his own inner demons.

When the film was released in June of 2008, it was the second movie of what we now call the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It glosses over some of the backstory and was the last time that Edward Norton played the character before he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in later MCU films.

This film was made when Disney wasn’t yet the owner of Marvel and it was still releasing its movies through other studios. When the MCU expanded in 2009, it was a little more difficult to bring all the movies into Disney’s fold, especially those that were previously released under other production companies.

In this case, the 2008 movie was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. The distribution rights were owned by Universal and so the film wasn’t able to join the MCU until Disney took over the company in 2009.

The Incredible Hulk is now on Disney Plus, along with the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man movies, Tom Holland’s Homecoming and Far From Home, and Tom Hardy’s Venom. Earlier this year, Disney finally reached an agreement to get Sony’s Spider-Man movies onto the service as well.

As for the four movies that are missing, the only ones from outside the MCU that aren’t on Disney Plus are the Eternals starring Chloe Zhao and the three MCU Spider-Man films from Sony starring Tom Holland. The company is slowly adding them as the studio reaches agreements with other distributors, but it’s going to be a long time before all 23 MCU films are available on the service. Until then, you’ll have to make due with other streaming services or DVD and Blu-Ray releases.