Were you a little surprised when you heard that Edward Norton had signed on to star in (and ultimately co-write) The Incredible Hulk? Skeptical, even? Well, don't feel bad -- Norton had the same reaction at first.

The actor -- set to play roving scientist/part-time raging behemoth Bruce Banner in this summer's reboot of Marvel's Hulk franchise -- tells The Sun (working from a report in Total Film) that he initially didn't see himself in the role:

"When the phone rings and someone says, 'Hey, would you be interested in the big green guy?' there's that part of all of us that doesn't want to look like an idiot. There's the wince factor or the defensive part of you that recoils at what the bad version of what that would be. And I did that, basically. I said 'no' to it a couple of times."

And speaking of "the bad version of that," while Norton didn't come right out and slam 2003's Hulk, he emphatically denies any connection between the earlier film and his own take on the character:

"I think like Chris Nolan and those guys did with Batman, we just said: 'We're going to start completely with our own version of this myth or saga.'"

Wait, did he say "saga"? Yes, he did -- according to Norton, he went into The Incredible Hulk expecting sequels. Saying "the whole thing was to envision it in multiple parts," he promises fans that this summer's blockbuster is "definitely intended as chapter one."

Source: The Sun