The Planet Hulk movie rumor is officially dead.
What once started as a rumor claiming Marvel Studios was moving toward an eventual Planet Hulk movie, has since evolved into a Planet Hulk movie being combined with a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel in Phase 3.
This newer Planet Hulk rumor is officially dead now too.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has gone on the record, via IndieWire, to debunk the Planet Hulk movie rumors.
"I can answer that question very easily: it is absolute, 100% bull****. It feels like a great relief to finally say this after all the dumb stuff on the Internet. There's not going to be a Planet Hulk movie, there was never going to be a Planet Hulk movie, there was never a plan for the Hulk to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy – I wouldn't want the Hulk to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy! And it's all a bunch of complete bull****.”
Then, Gunn discussed why the rumor continued to have legs and why the Planet Hulk rumor probably evolved into including being included in a the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
"The whole thing is, there's Sakaraan in [Guardians of the Galaxy]. And the reason there's Sakaraan in the movie is because there aren't that many alien races in the Marvel Universe, and of those prominent alien races, such as the Kree and the Skrull. I have some very specific ideas for where those races go."
So there you have it. Planet Hulk, according to Gunn, is a dead rumor. Unless he's intentionally lying about it because Marvel Studios told him to lie. It's always a possibility since those working with Marvel Studios films have lied directly to the media several times in the past. See Paul Rudd lying about being cast as Ant-Man or Guy Pearce lying about having a minimal role in Iron Man 3, to name a few.
Stay tuned because Marvel Studios is getting ready to pull back the curtain on part of, or all of, their Phase 3 plans in 2016 and beyond at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International later this week!