Avengers: Endgame – Professor Hulk didn’t do well with test audiences

Avengers: Endgame’s Smart Hulk actually didn’t test that well in early screenings.

Professor Hulk was one of the breakout characters of Avengers: Endgame, with many praising the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new iteration of the Green Goliath. However, this wasn’t the case during test screenings.

Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely did a commentary track for the home media release of the film. During the chat (via Comicbook.com), McFeely revealed that Hulk was referred to as “Smart Hulk” during filming, and that he was originally going to debut in Infinity War:

"“Yes, we called him Smart Hulk throughout the shoot. I guess its okay to talk about how his arc, this event, the creation of Smart Hulk, used to take place in Infinity War. He was fighting in Wakanda. The whole arc of the story was Banner and Hulk were not getting along. Hulk wouldn’t come out to help him. And at his hour of greatest need, they make some sort of compromise, and Smart Hulk rips out of the armor and beats the crap out of Cull Obsidian and destroys him.”"

McFeely went on to explain that this character breakthrough for the dueling personalities didn’t mesh with the casualties in the film’s third act. As a result, the visual effects artists also had to scramble to make the necessary changes:

"“The movie needed to just stay in its succession of losses in the third act, which meant some hustling on the part of VFX late in the game.”"

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On top of not fitting into the story, co-director Joe Russo acknowledged that Professor Hulk didn’t perform well during early viewings of the film, as none of the test audiences “would accept it.”

Bruce Banner’s presence in Endgame was praised by fans and critics alike, with many citing Mark Ruffalo’s performance as a fresh take on the classic character. Based on this, it’s surprising to hear he was unpopular during Infinity War test screenings.

Still, as McFeely mentioned, this could have mostly been due to the character feeling out of place in the story. Having him appear at the tail end of a film that featured monumental losses for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would have seemed awkward. Interestingly, the revelation of the visual effects team having to rush explains why the CG for the Hulkbuster looked incomplete at times.

Nevertheless, fans were ultimately able to see a big screen Professor Hulk that fit perfectly into Avengers: Endgame. And thanks to the reception to him, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see more of him at some point in the future.