D23 kicked off this past Friday and revealed a bunch of exciting Disney news but Marvel fans had to wait patiently until Saturday to hear all sorts of fun announcements. This included the news that Tim Blake Nelson would be coming back to reprise his role as Samuel Sterns, aka “The Leader” from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
The Incredible Hulk, which starred Edward Norton as the MCU Bruce Banner at the time, has largely been cast aside and ignored among MCU fans, despite being a part of the official canon. Many considered that film to be a one-off until Tim Roth reprised his role as Emil Blonsky aka Abomination in Shang-Chi and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, respectively.
And even though there was an after-credits scene with Tony Stark and Thunderbolt Ross, many couldn’t accept that it was part of the larger MCU after Norton departed and the role of Bruce Banner was recast with Mark Ruffalo.
Now, equally surprising to us as it is TBN, the actor is returning to also reprise his villainous role as The Leader who is rumored to be the main villain of Captain America: New World Order, which sees Sam Wilson in the titular role as the new Captain America.
Captain America: New World Order comes to theaters on May 3, 2024, as part of Marvel’s Phase 5.
