The Incredible Hulk Movie Update

During the Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic Con it was mentioned that Edward Norton, the star of the movie, recently re-wrote the screen play leaving fans confused as what happened to the version that Zak Penn originally wrote.

Today the L.A. Times have shed some light on the subject with a very interesting article on how scripts are written for 20th Century Fox. They are reporting that when Norton came in to meet about starring as Banner in April, the film had already been greenlighted and there were just three months before shooting was scheduled to begin, just after Independence Day.

But Norton had well-established (if underground) writing experience and strong ideas about how to separate the film from any confusion over its connection to the 2003 Ang Lee version by casting it in a more distinct, starting-over vein like "Batman Begins" or "Casino Royale."

So Norton's initial deal included payment not just for his acting services but for his writing talents too, with his draft contractually stipulated to be turned around in less than a month. As it turned out, Norton delayed work on another screenplay job to do "Hulk," and he continues to tweak the script as principal photography hits its halfway point outside Toronto.

Meanwhile, Penn is writing a big-budget version of "The Avengers" and yet another potential "X-Men" spinoff.

Visit L.A. Times.com to read the complete story.