Compared to the previous iterations of Hulk from Universal and Fantastic Four from Fox, the scripts written by Marvel's comic writers and screenwriters for film adaptations clearly showed some improvement.
However, to Wayne, who still retained memories of his previous life, the plots felt somewhat simplistic and not particularly exciting.
In superhero movies, the most important elements are the action scenes and special effects, while the plot, though not entirely irrelevant, tends to take a backseat.
At this point, Avi Arad clearly hadn't yet conceived of the idea or had the ambition to create the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The three scripts felt somewhat disjointed. Filming them as-is would make it hard to later incorporate them into a cohesive Avengers storyline. Wayne was unsure whether he should share his plan with Avi Arad now or wait a bit longer.
Revealing the plan now would have the advantage of allowing them to start designing and refining the scripts early on. After all, creating a vast cinematic universe would require meticulous planning.
However, the current state of filmmaking and special effects technology was not yet capable of bringing such a universe to life. For instance, 3D technology wouldn't truly take off until James Cameron's Avatar hit theaters.
And what if the script leaked during the long design and refinement process? Warner Bros., with its full ownership of DC rights, could immediately exploit this idea, breaking free from the overly familiar Batman and Superman formula. They could establish their own DC cinematic universe faster than Marvel.
Considering Superman and Batman's popularity and influence far exceeded that of Marvel's superheroes at the time, Marvel's cinematic universe could potentially be dead on arrival!
"So for now, I can't reveal this plan to Avi Arad," Wayne decided after some thought.
Of course, the Marvel films still needed to be made. In fact, Wayne even changed his original plan of prioritizing Captain America and decided to focus on The Hulk instead.
But the script for The Hulk would need a major overhaul.
In Wayne's previous life, The Hulk went into production immediately after the massive success of Spider-Man 1 and was released just a year later.
At that time, audiences were still highly interested in superhero movies. But even with the residual hype from Spider-Man 1, The Hulk only managed to gross $245 million worldwide.
Rushed production to meet a tight deadline resulted in a $137 million budget for The Hulk, leaving Universal with very little profit, barely breaking even after a year's hard work.
This was why the sequel, The Incredible Hulk, didn't begin production until 2007.
The main reason for The Hulk's disappointing box office performance was that the producers misunderstood the film's theme.
Spider-Man resonated with audiences not just because of its quality, but because, after the events of 9/11, the American people needed a superhero.
What did The Hulk offer? It told the story of a scientist accidentally exposed to gamma rays, mutating into a mindless, destructive green monster who escapes after being hunted by the military.
What part of this screams "superhero that protects the people"?
The script submitted by Avi Arad, written by Marvel's own comic creators and screenwriters, was indeed more exciting than the original, but it still followed the comic's storyline, focusing on The Hulk's origin without breaking new ground.
If the film followed that script, even with some improvements, it would still likely struggle at the box office, and the reviews would be nothing to write home about. The script needed a breakthrough.
The simplest way to achieve this was to combine the stories of The Incredible Hulk with the first Hulk movie.
In this version, after Dr. Banner accidentally transforms into The Hulk, the villainous military attempts to capture him for human experimentation. After several failed attempts, they finally succeed by using Dr. Banner's girlfriend as bait, capturing him and taking him to a secret lab hidden beneath New York City.
During the experiment, the villainous mercenary Emil Blonsky, unable to resist the temptation of power, secretly injects himself with Hulk's blood. While he gains strength nearly equal to The Hulk's, he also turns into a monstrous creature known as the Abomination.
Driven by ambition, Blonsky destroys the lab and all experimental materials to prevent anyone else from gaining The Hulk's power and attempts to kill The Hulk as well.
Dr. Banner, having taken a suppressant, is unable to transform and is no match for the Abomination. In a moment of crisis, his girlfriend comes to his rescue, and the two escape by helicopter, trying to flee New York.
But the Abomination pursues them, causing massive destruction in the city.
To prevent further harm to innocent people, Dr. Banner jumps from the helicopter, triggering his transformation into The Hulk just in time to battle the Abomination.
After a fierce battle, The Hulk defeats the Abomination.
To prevent his blood from falling into the hands of other villains, Dr. Banner is forced to leave his girlfriend and go into hiding.
Meanwhile, the military, in an effort to cover up their mistakes and prevent other groups from discovering The Hulk, teams up with S.H.I.E.L.D. to completely suppress any knowledge of The Hulk and the Abomination's existence.
With this approach, The Hulk could finally be considered a true superhero, and it would make sense why Iron Man didn't know about The Hulk's existence.
Having settled on this idea, Wayne headed to his study with Mia and Hannah, explaining the key points as he began writing a new script outline.
After listening to Wayne's explanation, Mia finally understood what a true superhero was and why Wayne had been dissatisfied with the previous script.
It was clear that Wayne's new script truly captured the essence of what made The Hulk a superhero.
"You're amazing, darling! I'll give this outline to Avi Arad tomorrow so they can revise the script accordingly!"
"There's no need to rush," Wayne smiled, setting down his pen and stretching. "Industrial Light & Magic already has a full workload this year, so even if we start production, it'll have to wait until the end of the year or even next year."
With that, he wrapped an arm around her waist and added with a smile, "Now let me show you something even more impressive~"
Mia, hearing this, softened and collapsed into his arms.
But after their earlier intense session before dinner, her energy was completely drained, so she replied, "No, darling. Why don't you go find Amanda and Lydia instead?"
Wayne prided himself on being flexible, so that night he went to Amanda's room, inviting Lydia to join them.
Though Amanda and Lydia together couldn't compare to Charlize Theron in terms of strength, they still weren't much of a match for Wayne.
Having maintained such intense "battles" for some time, Wayne figured it was time for a break. After defeating the two, he didn't seek out any other women and went to bed early, holding both sisters close.
The night passed without incident.
The usually cool, arrogant, and slightly rebellious punk princess actually has such a girly side? This is unbelievable!
Among the crowd, only Sandy Roberts, her manager, remained calm. After all, he knew just how much Avril liked Wayne.
To be honest, he had serious doubts. With Wayne's looks, physique, charisma, wealth, fame, and influence—not to mention his incredible abilities in certain areas—was there any woman he couldn't conquer?
"At least in Hollywood, if he wanted to, I doubt any woman could resist his overwhelming charm," Sandy Roberts thought to himself.
In fact, it wasn't just him. People like Harvey and Howard Stringer thought the same. That's why they found it difficult to maintain a good relationship with Wayne.
After all, they couldn't offer Wayne things he could easily obtain himself to get on his good side, right? For reference, just look at what MGM offered—chips and Playboy bunnies.
Howard Stringer had it easier since he had the backing of Sony Entertainment's global influence. But Harvey had to put in quite a bit of effort.
Wayne understood this, which is why he was looking forward to Harvey's party.
But tonight, he needed to comfort his punk princess first.
"Let's go, babe. Let's go home."
After a romantic candlelight dinner, the two returned to Avril's place.
Although she had been busy practicing her singing and hadn't been eating properly, leaving her physically and mentally drained, Avril still pushed through with sheer determination, giving 120% effort, and extending the duration of their "battle" to a full 40 minutes.
So, after Wayne had recharged overnight, the next day, after having breakfast with Avril and personally driving her to the recording studio, he went full throttle. In just one day, he managed to take care of all the other women except for Camilla, Martina, and Isla Fisher, who were still busy filming.
In the evening, Wayne picked Avril up from work like the best boyfriend, cooked dinner with her, and then returned to his estate. He changed into formal attire and headed to Harvey's party.
"Haha, Wayne, I've been waiting for you all day!"
Unlike before, this time Harvey was waiting at the door personally. The moment Wayne got out of the car, Harvey rushed up to greet him.
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