The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. Produced by Marvel Studios and Valhalla Motion Pictures, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it serves as the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Zak Penn, the film stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner alongside Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, and Christina Cabot. In the film, Banner becomes the monstrous Hulk as an unwitting participant in a military scheme to reinvigorate the super soldier program through gamma radiation exposure. He subsequently flees from the military while seeking a cure for his condition.