Mark Ruffalo has had a positive year so far - critical and commercial success with Shutter Island was followed by a solid turn in The Brothers Bloom alongside Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz. It's almost enough to make us forget about Just Like Heaven. Almost. Now, Ruffalo appears to be the frontrunner to fill the Edward Norton-sized hole as Hulk in The Avengers.

With Norton having now left the project, thoughts have turned to a Bruce Banner replacement and Deadline is reporting that Ruffalo is "in late-stage talks" to star as the angry green dude in the superhero mash-up.

If Ruffalo were to bag the role - certainly the most high profile of his career - he would join Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and, possibly, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. Now, that's a cast!