Wanted: Man with the tendency to turn green when cheesed off (not just unleash his anger on an unsuspecting web audience), owner of a pair of short purple shorts, and with the smarts of Doogie Howser on his best day.

Yep, sounds like Marvel is looking for a new big-screen “Hulk”.

Avi Arad tells IF Magazine hat the new “Hulk” movie, “The Incredible Hulk”, will not be so much a sequel to the first film (which starred Eric Bana in the dual roles of Bruce Banner/Hulk) as it’ll be a remake.

“It’s a “do-over”. I loved the HULK movie, it was just a different approach, and it wasn’t exactly the comic. We want to be much closer to the comic. It’s what we would rather do".

I think that essentially rules out Eric Bana returning in the main role. If it’s a total ‘redo’ then they’ll be essentially ditching everyone and anyone connected to the first film. (David Duchovny was mentioned, at one time, as a possible replacement for Eric Bana). Fits in with what Bana’s been telling me, too. Eric hasn’t heard a thing from anyone at the studio, regarding the movie, and since they’ve got a writer, and, are apparently about to announce a director, you’d think they would have told Bana he was required back, too, by now – if they planned on using him. I think it’s safe to say, Bana’s “Hulk Smash” days are over.

The new movie, which is said to be truer to the character’s comic book roots, will pit the Hulk against the equally large, Abominable.

Zak Penn, writer of the upcoming Hulk sequel/redo/remake/reimagining/restart, told fans of theXverse website about his plans for the green guy’s exultant return to cinemas. Fans will be glad to hear what’s in store.

Firstly, Penn (“X-Men : The Last Stand”) mentioned what he didn’t like about the original “Hulk” film, stating that although he “loved the action sequences”, he “hated super poodles and the idea that Bruce was "born" mutated, rather than the classic, repressed, monster inside of him Banner that I grew up on. Dad story was bad. Fight with tanks good. CG good, but should have been combined with animatronics in my opinion. Split screens were a nice idea but distracting”.

Some of the ideas for the new film will be lifted from a draft of the “Hulk” that Penn did in 1996.

“It's not like we're just going back to it. Just keeping some ideas and sequences and the James Cameron inspired tone that I was shooting for”, he explains. “I thought the tone of the TV series was perfect, and something the first movie could have used. I really wanted to see Bruce on the run, keeping his secret from people, constantly afraid of transforming. You will see all that in Hulk 2, and no poodles”.

Fortunately, they won’t be cost-cutting and having a man-in-a-suit play The Hulk, either.

“There's no way he can be a man in a suit. That said, a combination of prosthetics, animatronics, and cg would be the best way to go, in my opinion. Check out how they did the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park; even though the tech is fifteen years old, the fact that sometimes there actually was something physical in front of the actors made a huge difference.

“Keep in mind, also, that sometimes they put a guy in a suit for certain shots: long shots, overcranked stunts, places where a human figure will make it look real. Incidentally, this will NOT be straight to DVD, or even a cheap movie. Marvel is dropping a lot of money on this and I think it has a chance to be better than the first or I wouldn't be involved.”

After a ramping up of interest in a sequel to Ang Lee's "Hulk" comes news today from "The Hollywood Reporter" that Louis Leterrier, Director of "The Transporter" & "Danny The Dog" (AKA "Unleashed"), has signed on the dotted line to take over the reigns of "The Incredible Hulk" for Marvel Studios.

Early stories circulating are that "Incredible" will ignore the Ang Lee version, and instead reboot the franchise - but rumours persist that Eric Bana is still being actively pursued to play Dr. Bruce Banner for the second time. Zak Penn, the man (at least partially) behind "X-Men 2" & "X-Men: Last Stand" (but more importantly, "PCU") is writing the screenplay this time out.

July 23, 2006 - Hulk 2 (actually titled The Incredible Hulk) is not going straight to DVD. David Duchovny will not star now that Eric Bana has left the project. Neither will Brendan Fraser. The franchise will, however, have a new director. Mere days ago Louis Leterrier, most recently responsible for The Transporter 2 was tapped to direct the big green one's latest screen adventure.

Speaking about the wooing process, the French director said, "We've been turning around each other like dogs in love." Ultimately, he was selected, and President of Production Kevin Feige said, "What he has planned in terms of the fun aspects of the Hulk, Hulk as hero, you guys will really be excited."

Members of the panel seemed dedicated to distancing themselves from Hulk. Louis Leterrier said, "The idea… is to make the Hulk action adventure movie everyone wanted to see."

In addition to being an action/adventure movie, Leterrier stated, "It's Marvel's horror movie… It's Frankenstein, it's Jekyll and Hyde and a little Edward Scissorhands." The script is going to hearken back to the television show, focusing on Banner's journey and his difficulty dealing with the monster. "The good thing abour number twos is that you don't waste your time on the origin," said Leterrier.

Every superhero movie needs a villain, and since this installment is focusing on Hulk's more heroic qualities, it's only right that he gets a gnarly enemy. That ultra-bad-ass is going to be Abomination. "I think we needed an anti-Hulk this time," said Leterrier. "Abomination is mega-bad Hulk."

Warming the hearts of many Con-goers, Leterrier delivered one last piece of good news about the sequel: "No poodles. Promise." Keep your eyes on IGN FilmForce for more information on this and other Marvel movies.

I wasn’t initially too keen on HULK 2 with word that it would, once again, rehash its origin story and go straight to DVD. Well, this panel renewed my zest in the film. HULK 2 will be released theatrically and has that fun-loving French dude Louis Leterrier at the helm. Leterrier directed the incredibly entertaining TRANSPORTER flicks and if anybody can give us an “action Hulk” that delivers, it would be him! Here’s what the panel revealed...

*The villain in this sequel will be “Abomination”.

*Brendan Fraser will not be Bruce Banner. The recent rumor is false. They haven't cast the lead yet.

*They will focus on the fun aspects of The Hulk on this go-around.

*They’re aiming for a vibe akin to the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno TV show with this sequel. Guy on the road, struggling with being The Hulk.

*There will be another love story in the film and the character of Ross will return.

*They start shooting in April of 2007 and Leterrier is crazy about the script. He loves it!

*The film won’t focus on The Hulk’s origin as we all know it by now. Good move!

*Hulk might speak in this one. Lou Ferrigno actually offered his services to do the voice of The Hulk.

*Leterrier calls The Hulk, Marvel’s "horror movie". He wants to focus on the “monster hunt” and the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Bruce Banner. That’s what I like to hear!

Big-boned Dominic Purcell as Big-boned Hulk?

Maybe. I dunno.

Purcell appeared on a U.S morning show today – says Aint it Cool News – and was asked about the rumours of him possibly replacing Eric Bana (who I can confirm, is out) as the big-screen Hulk.

Purcell basically offered a nervous giggle, and failed to cough up much of a retort – well, besides the odd ‘ummmmmmm’.

Naturally, most are assuming he’s got the role, and just can’t say anything yet.

If you ask me, I’d say it’s simply a case of an actor following the long-standing ‘keep ‘em guessing’ system of not ever ‘ruling anything out’ – by laughing at the prospect of something, or straight-up debunking a rumour, you can burn many bridges, including your own, so it’s best to leave the audience ‘wondering’ – but nevertheless, the rumour mill is rampant that the “Prison Break” star might be able to slap on the purple trousers of “The Incredible Hulk”. Yep, All because the guy ummmed and ahhhhhed his way through an answer. Now, granted, Purcell could be in talks to play the new Bruce Banner – I have no idea, so it could be on the money – but I personally think people may be reading a little too much into his ‘search’ for an answer. Heck, Purcell could be hoping to get a look-in for the role – having heard the rumours himself – and that might be why he’s not saying anything.

Guess we’ll see soon.

The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier (the "Transporter" films, "Unleashed") stopped by the Superhero Hype! message boards to chat with fans about Marvel Studios' anticipated sequel, to be released by Universal Pictures. The film will return to the roots of the long-running comic series, combining a well-developed character storyline with incredible action and fun. Zak Penn, who previously collaborated with Marvel on X2: Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, is writing the script.

Click here for Leterrier's answers to questions asked by the fans!

Louis Leterrier, director of “The Incredible Hulk”, answered a few questions from fans on the Superhero Hype board regarding the upcoming super sequel/remake/restart.

Asked who will be playing The Hulk this time around, Leterrier didn’t rule out the possibility of Eric Bana returning to the role. “He’s not out”, he said, adding that he’s not ruling out the casting of an unknown actor either.

As for those Dominic Purcell rumours? Nothing in them, it seems.

One thing is pretty certain, Leterrier does plan on getting ‘original’ Hulk Lou Ferrigno involved. “I saw Lou F at Comic-Con after I saw you guys and I think we're going to find something great for him to do this time” he says.

Letterier says his film won’t be anything like Ang Lee’s movie. “I like the first film. I just think I'm a maggot compared to Ang Lee. I'm not going to try to copy him, it would be an enormous failure. I'm going to do my version of a Hulk film. There's a lot of me in Unleashed. If you liked this film, you'll like our Hulk.”

Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures will unleash Marvel's renowned, larger-than-life green Super Hero onto moviegoers everywhere in summer 2008 as they have announced a June 27th release date for the action-packed, new big screen adaptation: The Incredible Hulk. The announcement was made today by Michael Helfant, President and COO, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige, President of Production for Marvel Studios.

Directed by top rising star Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, Unleashed), The Incredible Hulk will return to the roots of the long-running comic series, combining a well-developed storyline with incredible action and fun. Zak Penn, who previously collaborated with Marvel on X2 and this summer's smash hit X-Men: The Last Stand, is writing the script. The project is being produced by Avi Arad, Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd and will be executive produced by Michael Helfant, David Womark, and Ari Arad. Marvel Studios is currently casting the project.

The Incredible Hulk is being independently produced by Marvel Studios through its $525 million, non-recourse film finance facility and will be distributed domestically and in several international territories by Universal Pictures.

Feige commented, "'The Incredible Hulk' will be the type of fun, high-octane event film people have come to expect from Marvel. We could not be more excited about this project and our summer 2008 prospects now that we have both our green goliath and our highly-anticipated 'Iron Man' set for release."

Helfant added, "We're very happy that Universal is distributing 'The Incredible Hulk.' We have a history together and this is a great opportunity for both Marvel and Universal to take the 'Hulk' film franchise to another level."

While the new Spider-Man 3 trailer will be shown on TV during MTV's "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel" at 10p.m. ET on Thursday, you'll be able to watch the trailer online at iFilm at that time as well! The trailer will then play in theaters with Casino Royale starting November 17.

n an interview with Wizard Magazine, “Incredible Hulk” writer Zak Penn tells a tale of how his earlier loss (being rejected for the first ‘Hulk’) turned into an imminent gain (being hired for the second ‘Hulk’).

ComicBookMovie quotes the writer as telling the mag, “My draft of the first ‘Hulk’ opened with him already having transformed into the Hulk,” explained Penn, who is also writing the “Ultimate Avengers” movie. “It opened with him at a roadside bar with these guys picking on him and him saying, ‘Don’t make me angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry,’ and then transforming, and then you flash back to reveal how it all happened.

“Part of the way that this ‘Hulk’ came about is that they went back and read my draft. They went back through all of the stuff that they had commissioned and said, ‘This is more of the tone that we wanted.’ So it doesn’t really require us ignoring the first movie, but that said, there’s a lot of stuff in the first movie that I’m not even going to touch on.”

And no, nobody has been chosen to play The Hulk yet. Hearsay has Carrot Top in with a chance, though.

explained Penn, who is also writing the “Ultimate Avengers” movie.

and then you flash back to reveal how it all happened.