Ferrigno to Bellow "Hulk Smash!"

There are substantial positives and negatives lingering about The Incredible Hulk, and we've kind of covered this ground before. The positives include the addition of Edward Norton, the possibility of a great villian with Tim Roth playing Emil Blonsky, who later becomes the Abomination, and maybe a little more attention to being a big action movie with dark undertones instead of the other way around, which was probably the most notable problem with the Ang Lee version. Among the negatives are the fact that this thing was just in theaters five years ago, and people generally don't have fond memories. Is it too soon to go back to the well? Also, I'm not sold on director Louis Leterrier because, well, I've seen the Transporter movies. I'm also concerned about those pesky reports of a power struggle between Marvel, Norton, and Leterrier, which I'm prone to believe given Norton's history as a control freak. I mean that in the most positive way, because he's a very bright and talented guy, but he has displayed the "my way or the highway" mentality in the past, although it's hard to argue that he hasn't earned at least some measure of that authority. We'll know more in a couple weeks, of course, but Variety reports today that there will be another key addition to The Incredible Hulk - the voice of the Hulk. Now, outside of grunts and the like, the Hulk has never really spoken on TV or in movies. The strangest part of this news is who will be supplying the voice; for the first time, we'll hear the green guy scream "Hulk smash!" and the man behind the yell will be Lou Ferrigno. That's right, Ferrigno, who never said a word in five years playing the Hulk on TV (and based on the CGI from both films, he's still the most believable portrayal of the character), essentially auditioned for the part as part of the Hulk panel discussion at New York Comic Con, according to producer Gale Anne Hurd. "Lou did this amazing, 'Hulk smash!' " remembers Hurd. "And (director Louis Leterrier) said, 'Come in, we'll record you next week.' Everybody thought it was either a staged event or we wouldn't really do it. But the next week Lou came in in L.A. and his voice is the voice of the Hulk." We spoke briefly with Ferrigno when he attended the Phoenix Comic Con in January, and he mentioned he would make an appearance in the film, though he couldn't say in what capacity. But that was months before the panel discussion in New York. So is he in there twice? Or was this the plan all along? Still, I guess it can't hurt to have Ferrigno give the ol' "Hulk smash!", and given the track record with this property, maybe that's the best we can hope for.

And just because it's out there, here's a brand new, low-quality fourth trailer for The Incredible Hulk.