In the aftermath of “The Incredible Hulk,” the title character and his corner of the MCU were very much pushed to the side. The film never received a proper sequel. Mark Ruffalo took over for Edward Norton in Dr. Bruce Banner’s next chronological MCU appearance, “The Avengers,” and all that came after it. However, that’s not to say that “The Incredible Hulk” hasn’t left a lasting impact on the wider MCU. Several actors from the film, including Tim Roth, have returned in other projects, and others will reemerge as well down the road.
Despite the initial resistance to his casting, Roth returned to the role of Emil Blonsky via “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and later “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” over a decade after his MCU debut. His comeback came to fruition after William Hurt’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross became a recurring MCU presence in productions like “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Black Widow.” In the near future, MCU fans can look forward to Tim Blake Nelson’s reprisal of Samuel Sterns, aka the Leader, and Liv Tyler’s return as Betty Ross in “Captain America: Brave New World.”
Now that he’s back in the MCU fold, time will tell if fans can look forward to more appearances from Tim Roth — the Abomination actor who almost never was — in the coming years.
