Marvel’s TV movie The Death of The Incredible Hulk had a sequel planned

“Death” was not supposed to be the end for Marvel’s first Incredible Hulk played by Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby.

As an Avenger and one of Stan Lee’s prized creations, The Hulk is among Marvel’s elite. However, despite his numerous appearances in the MCU, he only has two solo feature films to boast about — only one of which is part of the cinematic universe. To top that off, they recast his human form, Bruce Banner, three times before settling on Mark Ruffalo.

In the 1970s and 80s, The House of Ideas didn’t have these problems and for two decades, the tragic, traveling saga of the scientist who transforms into a rampaging brute played out with Bill Bixby as (David, not Bruce) Banner and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as the savage beast. Even after their show wrapped, the story carried on and they returned for three TV movies.

Death isn’t the end

The Return of The Incredible Hulk, The Trial of The Incredible Hulk, and The Death of The Incredible Hulk varied in quality and, let’s be honest, were willy-nilly attempts to use the show’s popularity to pitch spinoffs for Daredevil and Thor; but they kept the pot simmering. They also provide a final act for the journey of David Banner.

That came to a bitter but touching end in the last installment when The Hulk plummeted from an exploding plane and died after crashing down to earth. This is the conclusion all who saw the movie remember and is the last word on that incarnation of the green guy as far as anyone is concerned. But this wasn’t intentional.

In the early ’90s, plans were in motion to follow up on Death with a fourth film titled either The Rebirth… or Revenge of The Incredible Hulk depending on the source you consult. To no surprise, moreover, this unmade sequel became the stuff of legend to Hulk and Marvel fans and spawned apocryphal stories about its plot.

The most popular theory is Revenge centered around David coming back to life to find his mind was at the wheel, but he was stuck with his body in the hulked-out mode. This theory spread far and wide and was even embraced by Ferrigno as the official storyline. So too was the notion that cancer-stricken Bixby’s health halted production.

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However, the film’s writer counters that this synopsis just isn’t so. Enter Gerald Di Pego, the Death, and Angel Eyes screenwriter who was working on the script for The Revenge in July of 1990 with a far different plot in mind. He informed the magazine Back Issue! in 2014 that his screenplay had David revived but unable to turn into The Hulk.

The creature truly dead for most of the runtime, David was free to work for the government to prevent the kind of mishaps with Gamma radiation that turn people into monsters. Eventually, he is captured by hostile agents who force him to do the opposite and recreate his experiments with the aim of making an army of Gamma-boosted super soldiers.

David repeats his experiment, all right, but to bring back to life the raging beast within and stop the bad guys. Bill Bixby’s health hadn’t deteriorated and he’d have been well enough to do it, but he and Di Pego never got past the script stage. The network (NBC) was displeased with the ratings for The Death and canceled the sequel. That was that.

Bixby finished his career working behind the scenes on the sitcom Blossom, and Ferrigno returned to the role that made him famous time and again to supply the voice in both TV and film. Di Pego is still active as a screenwriter though his last film was the 2013 drama Words and Pictures starring Clive Owen. And Hulk is still a staple of the MCU.

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