Mark Ruffalo was confirmed last week at comic-con to be taking over Edward Norton’s place as ‘The Incredible Hulk’ in ‘The Avengers’ movie. While I love Mark, what ever happened to Edward? It turns out that it is a pretty dramatic story.

Over 6,000 fans gathered at a Marvel Studios presentation at the San Diego, California comic book convention and just as the discussion was concluding, Samuel L. Jackson appeared onstage to introduce The Avengers cast.

The decision follows a dramatic dismissal of the previous Hulk, Edward Norton. Two weeks ago Marvel released a harsh statement announcing that Norton, who played Bruce Banner and his green alter-ego in the 2008 movie, would not be returning. The statement insisted the decision was not about money and suggested Norton was not a team player. Norton’s rep called the statement “purposefully misleading” and described the decision as a financial one.

Eric Bana portrayed The Hulk in 2003 and was also outed when another movie came along. Maybe there’s some crazy ‘ Marvel Comic Hulk’ curse. Whatever it may be, I’m sure ‘The Avengers’ will be fantastic regardless.

Ruffalo was tipped for the role in the upcoming superhero movie after studio bosses chose not to continue the franchise with Edward Norton, who played the Hulk in a 2008 film.

The actor said, “It’s like Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet – a new actor gets a crack at it every year. But really it’s all heady stuff. It’s exciting to be here. It’s great to be a part of all this.”

“The Avengers,” based on the comic books of the same name, is due in theatres in 2012.