The Incredible Hulk (upcoming animated series)

The Incredible Hulk is an upcoming American animated action-adventure superhero series created by Sage Cotugno for Disney+. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the series centers on Bruce Banner as he struggles with his transformations into the Hulk. It stars the voices of Josh Keaton and Fred Tatasciore as Banner and Hulk, respectively, alongside Sara Nicole-Robles, Chris Pratt, Sam Elliot, and Willem Dafoe. Brear McCreary composed the score. The series was produced by Disney Television Animation and Marvel Animation in association with Double Dare You Productions and Flying Bark Productions.

Following the success of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Disney Television Animation began work on additional Marvel-based series, and a series based on Hulk was announced in 2033, with Catugno attached as creator and executive-producer. Guillermo del Toro was hired as executive producer in 2034. Catugno aimed to "return the Hulk to his dark best self", and choose to skew the more comedic recent potrayals in favor of a darker story akin to the 1996-97 Incredible Hulk series. They also recruited several former staff members from Disney's The Owl House and drew inspiration from that series' curse storyline for the show's plot. Catugno also sought to incorporate as many elements from the characters' history as possible within the series.

The Incredible Hulk 's first season was released on Disney+ on September 23, 2035, while its second season was released in December 14, 2036. The series received critical acclaim, woth praise going for its dark tone, faithfulness to the source material, storytelling, animation, character development, score, and action sequences.

A feature film based on the series titled Hulk: At the Heart of the Atom, would also be released on Disney+.

Season 1
Disney's The Incredible Hulk follows the history of Bruce Banner, a brilliant scientist who, following an accident involving Gamma radiation, gsined the ability to turn into the childlike brute known as the Hulk. Now hunted by the ever-persisting General Ross, Banner receives the help of his girlfriend Betty Ross and best friend Rick Jones in finding a cure for his mutation. However, as a bigger threat arises, Banner and his friends begin to doubt whether the Hulk should to be cured, and Banner begins to reevalute how he sees both the Hulk and the world as a whole.

Season 2
Following the Leader's defeat, Banner and Hulk now find themselves in a truce, and start to work better on their relationship to have a peaceful co-existence. As they begin to solidify their friendship, Banner and Hulk find out they and their loved ones are being targeted by the disgraced former General Ross, who allied himself with the Leader and turned into a Red Hulk. Banner and Hulk must now find out whether their collaboration is strong enough to save themselves and their friends from the ever-more-insane Red Hulk. All in the while they discover their mind might be more complex, when a new Hulk begins to manifest.

Main cast

 * Josh Keaton as Bruce Banner: A scientist capable of turning into a green monster when enraged folliwing a lab accident. Showrunner Sage Cotugno defined Banner as "a by-the-numbers guys with a strong reliance on data and facts, who learns that it can be worthy to sometimes take a leap of faith". Keaton would aim for a performance that combines elements from Mark Ruffalo and Bill Bixby's potrayals. Keaton would also read the Immortal Hulk comics for inspiration. Kari Wahlgren voices a young Banner.
 * Fred Tatasciore as the Hulk: Banner's monstrous and childlike alter-ego. Cotugno said they wanted to bring forth "the tortured and misunderstood lonely soul that is the Hulk without making people forget why the goverment wants him dead". They also said they wanted to potray the Hulk "as the dangerously overpowered child he is in the comics", in contrast of more recent potrayals of his savage side. Both the Collector from The Owl House and the Immortal Hulk potrayal of the Savage Hulk were used as the main inspiration for the show's take on the character. Cotugno also wanted Hulk to "have moments of human rage" instead of "mindless rage" because they felt it gave the character more depth and humanity.
 * Keith David as Devil Hulk (season 2-onwards): A Hulk alter with a smarter and more rithless personapity who sees Banner and Hulk as his kids. Cotugno would descrobe him as "a very tough-but-soft sort of person" whose mysterious intentions tue to Banner's arc of understanding his alters. David would be cast in the role thanks to "his ability to sound both intimidating and caring".
 * Ray Winstone as Joe Fixit (season 3): A Hulk alter with grey skin and a mobster-esque personality. Winstone was cast in the role due to his exlerience playing gangsters.
 * Sarah Nicole-Robles as Betty Ross: A scientist with an spiritual side who is Banner's girlfriend and Ross' daughter, who tries to help Banner cope with the Hulk. Cotugno called her "the ying to Banner's yang", saying that "Banner is pure science and Betty, while a scientist, is someone more of faith. Of taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best". Strong said that Betty "learns to find her voice and stand-up for her beliecs as the story moves along".
 * A. J. LoCascio as Rick Jones: Banner's cocky-but-loyal best friend. Cotugno called him "the comic relief character who also provides emotional support", througth the series also e explores "how he copes with being the emotional support and how he grows and matures".
 * Ron Perlman as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross / Red Hulk: Betty's father and high-ranking general within the U.S. millatary obssesed with hunting down the Hulk. Cotugno compared Ross to Disney Villains Gaston and Judge Claude Frollo, defining him as "a self-obssesed madman who becomes a complete monster while believing himself to be in the right". Elliot said that "while he loves Betty, his obsession erodes slowly that love".
 * Willem Dafoe as The Leader: A gamma-irriadated mad scientist hellbent on world domination. Dafoe said the Leader "believes that because of how smart he is, he should rule the world", and that "he, as a narcissist, completly misses the fact that kindness and selflessness are what makes a true leader".

Recurring cast

 * Kari Wahlgren as Heather O'Gara / Blackbird: A former soldier working under Ross who joined the Leader after fighting the Hulk.
 * Chloe Bennet as Marlo Chandler: Betty's best friend.
 * Armin Taylor, Darin De Paul, and Travis Willgham as the Teen Brigade: A group of acquintances of Rick's that he assembled to help Banner avoid the military. All three voice actors played the Hulk across multiple media.
 * Henry Simmons as Nick Fury: The General of the US army and Ross' superior.
 * Kimberly Brooks as Jackie McGee: A news reporter.
 * George Takei as General Talbot: A General of the US army, who takes over the Hulkbusters unit after Ross is fired.
 * Al Ewing as Clay Quatermaine: Ross' second-in-command, who doubts his sanity and competence as the conflict with the Hulk continues. Cotugno wanted to give Ewing, who previously wrote the Immortal Hulk comics, because they were interested in giving a Hulk comic book writer a cameo.
 * Eric Bauza as Amadeus Cho: A young supergenius, friend of Rick, and leader of the Teen Brigade.
 * Tracey Ullman as Tigra (seaspn 3-onwards): A friend of She-Hulk's who was turned into a cat-like humanoid creature and struggles with her instincts.

Multiple seasons

 * Cree Summer as Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk: A distrinct attorney lawyer and Banner's cousin, who becones able to turn into her own green creature after a transfution with Banner's blood, while remaining in control.
 * Troy Baker as James "Logan" Howlett/ Wolverine: A mutant mercenary from Canada, and eventual X-Men.
 * Mark Hamill as Brian Banner: Bruce's abusive late father.

Season 1

 * Mark Ruffalo as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic: A scientist and the leader of the Fantastic Four. Ruffalo previously played Banner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * Tatiana Maslany as Susan Storm-Richards / Invisible Woman: A mechanic and Reed's wife, who is the second-in-command of the Fantastic Four. Maslany previously played Walters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * Edward Norton as Johnny Storm / Human Torch: Susan's hot-headed brother and a member of the Fantastic Four. Norton previously played Banner in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
 * Lou Ferrigno as Ben Grimm / The Thing: Reed's best friend, and a member of the Fantastic Four with a rock-like skin and super strength. Ferrigno previously played the Hulk in multiple media since the 1977 series.
 * Doug Jones as Half-Life, a mercenary turned by the Leader into the first of his Gamma creatures.
 * Eric Bana as Doctor Stephen Strange: A sorcerer Banner attends to when he questions the Hulk's true nature. Cotugno said they wanted to include Strange due to his relationship with the Hulk before the Planet Hulk storylone. They also noted Strange as "the one character" whose mythology drew from the Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration due to lacking the outdated aspects of the comics, througth they sought to compensate this by basing his personality and powers on the comics' version. Bana previously played Banner in Ang Lee's Hulk.
 * Jackie Chan as Wong: A Master of the Mystic Arts and Strange's mentor and friend.

Season 2

 * Giancarlo Esposito as Professor Charles Xavier: The leader of the X-Men and head teacher of the Xavier Institute for Young Gifted, who has strong telepathic powers.
 * Zeno Robinson as Scott Summers / Cyclops: The field leader of the X-Men, who can release laser beams from his eyes.
 * Janice Kawaye as Jean Grey: The X-Men's medic, with strong psychic and telaphic powers.
 * Eric Bauza as Hank McCoy / Beast: The X-Men's scientist, with a beast-like appearance and agility.
 * Cynthia McWilliams as Ororo Munror / Storm: A member of the X-Men, capable of controlling the weather.
 * Joaquin Cosio as Warren Worthing III / Angel: A member of the X-Men, with two angel-like wings.
 * Nolan North as Piotr Rasputin / Colossus: A member of the X-Men, possesing a steel-like skin.
 * Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Frye: A scientist running unethical experiments involving Gamma radiation. Nelson previously voiced The Leader in the MCU.

Development
After the success of Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Disney Television Animation began working on additional series based on Marvel Comics. During this time, the studio approached Sage Cotugno, who previously made a production deal with the studio, and asked them to develop a series based on the Hulk, due to their work on the webcomic The Glass Scientists. Cotugno agreed after researching the original comics, as they felt a Hulk story could tell a story reminiscent of early Disney films, featuring "thenes of love, self-acceptance, and the difference between a threat and a monster" while including "moments that will terrify audiences".

In early 2033, it was reported that Cotugno was developing a Hulk series, titled The Incredible Hulk, for Disney+, with Disney Television Animation producing. Cotugno personally requested the series to be released on Disney+, due to Disney TVA approaching an older target demographic for the streaming service, something they felt was needed to faithfully adapt the source material. Cotugno would also hire several crew memebrs from Disney's The Owl House, for which they served as a director for its first season, and other Marvel series. In 2034, Guillermo del Toro was hired to executive-produce the series througth his company, Double Dare You Productions; hecwas originally set to work on a cancelled Hulk show for ABC. Cotugno approached del Toro to work on the series due to his tragic approach to monsters in his projects. Cotugno also approached Al Ewing to serve as an executive-producer on the series after reading his work on Immortal Hulk.

Writing
For The Incredible Hulk, Cotugno would focus on previous potrayals of the Hulk such as the 1978 series and the 1996 animated series over the more comedic potrayals from recent years, in order to "return the Hulk to his dark best self", as they felt the darker tone of the previous series would help adapt more faithfully the comics. Regarding the series' themes and tone, Cotugno would draw inspiration from Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as they wanted the series to explore "what it means to be a monster", while also telling an emotional story about love and self-acceptance. They would also use the curse storyline from The Owl House as a main inspiration for Banner's story arc, as they perceived the idea of "accepting you have this inner beast within you, and realizing the beast is also a creature, and learning to live with them" was "tailor-made" for a Hulk storyline. On having episodes centered enterily on the Hulk side of the character, Cotugmo said they were inspired by the 60s-90s Incredible Hulk comics, which included entire issues centered on the Hulk, which they felt helped add the character more depth and become "something more than the standard human-turns-to-monster story".

Cotugno was initially apprensive on featuring the character's story with mental illness, but ultimately agreed to after concluding it is "a very important part of Hulk's character". After doing some research on dissociative identity disorder (DID), they choose to use each step for healing as a theme within each season: Season 1 would focus on system stabilization, while season 2 would focus on confronting the trauma, and season 3 would focus on rehabilitation. They drew inspiration on Moon Knight (2022) on "how to create a superhero story about DID". They also studued about relationships between alters and used that as "a guideline" for Hulk and Banner's relationship. Cotugno said they wanted to treat Hulk and Banner as "completly different individuals sharing a head", which they showcased througth their relationship with Betty. Cotugno wrote Banner and Betty's relationship as "a tragic love story", while Hulk and Betty's is more evocative of "a mother/son story" while keeping the tragic aspects, ultimately drawing inspiration from King Shark and Ratcatcher II's relationship in The Suicide Squad.

Cotugno said tgey were careful regarding the show's depiction of Banner as a fugitive in order to avoid making the look appear as an imitation of the 1996 show, so they drew inspuration from serialized TV shows starring criminals such as Breaking Bad, as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Luke Cage. According to Cotugno, it was this approach what inspired them to incorporate the Teen Brigade into the show, as their presence served as an excuse for Banner to remain in hiding. Cotugno also cited Luke Cage as a strong influence on the show's writing, particularly on the fact that "the show stars a character people are supposed to already be familiar with and already has gone througth some adventures" which is similar to their approach to Banner.

Regarding the relationships the rest of the cast has with the Hulk, Cotugno said each had a distinct inspiration. For Betty, she was inspired by both Belle and Beast's relationship in Beauty and the Beast and Luz and Amity's in The Owl House, and how "each brought the best in the other. Betty brings out the Hulk's tender side, and Hulk brings Betty's badass side". Hulk and Rick's relationship was inspired by Jack Russell and Man-Thing's friendship in the MCU special Werewolf by Night, showcasimg "how those two are an inseparable pair that sticks together througth thick and thin". Hulk and Ross' enemity was modeled after Moby Dick and Captain Ahab, and "the question of who here is the worst monster".

Cotugno wanted the series to include other elements of the Marvel universe as a form of worldbuilding. However, they would search for characters that "either have a deep connection to the Hulk mythos" or that "had a deep impact within the storyline" instead of merely including them for the sake of it. throught other easter eggs and minor references would also be included. They would also include characters and elements from Hulk comics and previous series in order to explore the character's mythology. Regarding the use of the phrase "Hulk smash!", the character's iconic catchphrase from the comics, Cotygno saif they "wanted the phrase to come up in moments that honored how badass and iconic that line is", instead of using it randomly. Cotugno refrained themself from including characters such as Iron Man, Thor, and Black Widow, however, as they felt other media such as the MCU already explored too much of their relationships with the Hulk.

Animation
Animation services would be provided by Titmouse, Inc. and Flying Bark Productions. Cotugno hired the due to their "splendid" work for Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, having been particularly impressed by their work on that series' action sequences, an aspect Catugno described as "vital for a show starring the Hulk". In-house animation was provuded by Dana Terrace, Kori Fiagome, and Stephen Wan.

The series' art style and character design would have a stylized look inspired by The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, aiming for a comic book style while avoiding a cartoonish appearance. The artists would also draw inspiration from Tim Sale's artwork for the comic book Hulk: Gray. Fpr the action sequences, the artosts would be inspired by Disney's Tarzan, as they wanted "to show how the Hulk fights in the comics: Using his emviroment and adapting it to his favor". Cotugno said Banner was designed to be "skinny and feeble, like a noodle" to contrast with the Hulk's muscular design. They also wanted for Hulk's transformations to feel "less like Banner turning into the the Hulk" and more like "the Hulk coming out of Banner's body", so they drew inspiration from films such as Aliens

Score
Brear McCrary would compose the score for the series, having previously done so for Marvel Television's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2020). McCreary composed three types of melodies: One that emcompassed the action-centered nature of the Hulk, one that focused on the more tragic adoects of the franchise, and a "bridge" between them. McCreary looked at his work on Godzilla: King of the Monsters for inspiration, wanting to recreate his combination of "awe-inducing monstrous kaiju melody" with the "more emotional stuff" for the series' score.

Soundtrack
Patrick Stump would write and perform the series' title song. Stump woukd compose a theme with "rockrolling melody and tragic lyrics" to reflect the series' action-heavy nature and dramatic tone. He and McCreary would work together to incorporate their melodies into the other's work. The theme would be released as a single in September 7, 2035.

The series would also make use of multiple licensed songs. Showrunner Sage Cotugno said that "this decision came naturally", as they thougth of said songs playing over the scenes as they were being conceived, and wanted to include them in the final product. The soundtrack would be released in September 27, 2035.

Trivia

 * The series would mark the first animated Disney series to be created by a non-binary person.
 * Showrunner Sage Cotugno described the series Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series as inspirations for the show's handling of the Marvel Universe.
 * Cotugno wanted the series to be a celebration of the Hulk's long history, while also "embracing the fact that this is a Disney show".