Last month, it was rumored that The Avengers 2 would involve the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) being deemed too dangerous to live on Earth and he would get shipped into outer space.  From there, Hulk would get a solo Phase 3 movie based off Greg Pak's comic book arc Planet Hulk.  In the comic, Hulk becomes enslaved on the planet Sakaar, is forced to participate in gladiatorial games and eventually becomes a hero of the rebellion against the Red King.  Then the rumor continued that The Avengers 3 would have Hulk and his subjects returning to Earth and wreaking havoc, which would be based on Pak's World War Hulk storyline.

At some point, it's difficult to tell how carefully Marvel Studios has mapped out their movies and at what point it's just fanboy dreaming masquerading as a serious possibility for future films.  Since Joss Whedon is one of the Marvel Movie Universe overseers now, IGN asked him about the Planet Hulk rumor.  Hit the jump for his response.

As you can see in the video below, when IGN asked about Planet Hulk, Whedon replied, "Well I’m really not supposed to comment, but no, that’s nonsense."

I'm sure those who back the rumors will cry, "Well of course he's going to deny it!"  We won't know who was telling the truth until 2015 when we see The Avengers 2.  It's the part of movie blogs to report juicy rumors (that hopefully have some credible source behind them, and aren't just cheap attempts to pull in traffic), and it's the part of the studios to deny those rumors in order to maintain a surprise for the audience.  I'm inclined to believe Whedon since Marvel has already struck out twice with the Hulk for solo movies, and even though he was incredibly popular in The Avengers, it's a tremendous gamble to make the character the bridge between The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3.