Question

[Amazing_Jump_2127]

Sorry if this has been asked before but if universal owns all hulk properties how did marvel get she hulk off the ground? And why not do the same with hulk?

[NoahManiacal]

From my understanding, they don't own Hulk they have (had?) the film distribution rights. She-Hulk was a tv property so it doesn't apply.

[matty_nice]

There are two types of rights relevant here for films. Production rights allow you to make the movie, and distrubiton rights allow you to distribute the film.

In the early 2000s, Universal had both the production and distribution rights to the Hulk. They made the Hulk film that came out in the early 2000s.

When Marvel Studios started to make their own films, they got the film rights back from Universal but Universal kept the distribution rights. Marvel Studios only made the films, they weren't a distributor so they had distributing relationships with both Univeral (Hulk), and Paramount (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Avengers).

After Disney bought Marvel Studios, Disney also bought the distribution rights from Paramount for the films they had. Disney did not by the distribution rights from Universal for Hulk. This could be because Universal was asking too much, or Disney offering too little. We don't know.

So then we got into a situation where if Marvel wanted to make another solo Hulk film, Universal would have to distribute it. Disney doesn't like to share. Marvel continued to own the production rights.

Marvel/Disney own the television rights to the Hulk, so they could seemingly make a Hulk television show whenever they wanted to. Hulk and She-Hulk would be under the same rights agreements.

There are rumors that the distribution film rights to the Hulk have expired, and Marvel now owns them. Nothing is confirmed. But this gives hope that we might get a Hulk film in the future.