Though the Hulk will appear in "The Avengers," Edward Norton has not been confirmed to reprise the role. He and "Incredible Hulk" director Louis Leterrier appear to have each other's backs, though. Leterrier believes Norton's return to Marvel Studios is possible, and Norton wants to see Marvel give their "Avengers" and "Captain America" directors more freedom than they did Leterrier.

"I loved Louis Leterrier," Norton told MTV News. "I wish they'd given him more free reign even than they did."

Norton didn't recommend a director for "The Avengers," but he did cite Christopher Nolan as an example of what he believes Marvel should shoot for.

"The thing that was so cool about seeing 'Dark Knight' was seeing that those guys really let Chris Nolan go there," the actor explained. "They let him go long and dark and deep, and we had been trying for that, and I think they weren't as comfortable with it."

As for whether Norton will show up in Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" or "The First Avenger: Captain America," he played down the possibility, going as far as to suggest that a cameo would clash with Marvel's vision for the films.

"No, I don't think that's probably going to uplift their 'Captain America,' " he said. "We'll see what they want to do. I figure it's a ways down the road."

Production on "Thor" has already begun, so the window for Norton to slip in might pass shortly. Nevertheless, Samuel L. Jackson surprised everyone with his scene at the end of "Iron Man," and the cameos Norton and Robert Downey Jr. swapped that summer stayed closely guarded secrets until the end.

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