<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $150 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $263.4 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures . It is the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Louis Leterrier, with a screenplay by Zak Penn . It stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, alongside Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, and William Hurt . In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk as an unwitting pawn in a military scheme to reinvigorate the supersoldier program through gamma radiation . On the run, he attempts to cure himself of the Hulk before he is captured by General Thaddeus Ross, but his worst fears are realized when power - hungry soldier Emil Blonsky becomes a similar, but more bestial creature . </P> <P> After the mixed reception to the 2003 film Hulk, Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to the character . Leterrier, who had expressed interest in directing Iron Man, was brought onboard and Penn began work on a loose sequel that would be much closer to the comics and the 1978 television series of the same name . In April 2007, Norton was hired to portray Banner and to rewrite Penn's screenplay in order to distance itself from the 2003 film and establish its own identity as a reboot, although he would go uncredited for his writing . Filming mostly took place in Toronto, Ontario, from July to November 2007 . Over 700 visual effects shots were created in post-production using a combination of motion capture and computer - generated imagery to complete the film . </P>

Who played the hulk in the incredible hulk