Eric Bana clears the air on rumors he’ll return as Hulk in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Eric Bana as Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk in Ang Lee's Hulk

With a million rumors swirling around who might appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s not impossible that Eric Bana could reprise his Hulk role for the film. However, the actor is urging fans not to get excited, as he’s throwing cold water on that idea.

Per Screen Rant, Bana commented on the Deadpool & Wolverine cameo rumors in a new interview on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM. After Jess Cagle brought up the rumors she’d read about a cameo from Bana, the actor responded, “I can’t see that happening. I’m really sorry, Jess.” He added that “Hugh [Jackman] is a very close friend of mine,” but even so, he reiterated, “Still can’t see that happening.”

It’s hard to really know for sure who will be seen in Deadpool & Wolverine. While some of the rumored names could end up becoming true, most actors would likely avoid dropping any spoilers, so a cameo denial doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t happen. Andrew Garfield famously spent months boldly denying he was in Spider-Man: No Way Home up to the point the film arrived in theaters, revealing him to be a major part of the movie.

Ang Lee Directing Drew Eric Bana to Hulk

Bana may or may not ever reprise his role from Hulk again, though it doesn’t appear that he’s exactly lobbying to make it happen. He also shared how he wasn’t particularly drawn to Hulk to begin with, admitting that it was the involvement of director Ang Lee that had him wanting to get on board. Bana noted how the film was made before the establishment of the MCU, so he wasn’t expecting to play the character for more than one movie.

Eric Bana's Hulk Glares At Talbot in Ang-Lee's The Hulk.

“At first, I was like, ‘No way. It’s not my kind of bag. I don’t think this is me,'” Bana explained, “and then we thought more and more about it, and I just, because also I didn’t have a script when I said yes, so I was like, ‘Well, what’s this gonna be like?’ So I really, really was putting all my chips in the Ang Lee basket on that film most definitely and all I knew was it’s gonna be very, very different, and also, back then, it wasn’t a thing. The Marvel universe hadn’t started yet.”

The actor continued, “You didn’t go and do those films thinking you were gonna do more than one movie. That paradigm didn’t exist, so you’re right. It was very, very much driven by wanting to work with someone like Ang.”

Hulk is streaming on Netflix, while Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theaters on July 26, 2024.