The word out now is that Lou Ferrigno, best known for his role as the The Hulk in the 1970s television series, will be the voice of The Hulk in The Incredible Hulk, which opens in theaters on June 13, 2008.

But some new information has surfaced that casts some doubt on Ferrigno’s role in the upcoming Louis Leterrier-directed feature film.

Back in April, Lou Ferrigno made a special appearance at the New York Comic Con panel for The Incredible Hulk, where he treated the audience to a “HULK SMASH!” Right afterwards, Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier told Ferrigno to come to the studio to record the voice of The Hulk in his upcoming feature film.

I was there, so I can tell you first-hand that it wasn’t clear at the NYCC panel if Leterrier was serious about his offer, but it was revealed that Ferrigno would have more than just a cameo in The Incredible Hulk (Ferrigno had a cameo as a security guide in Ang Lee’s The Hulk).

Last week, the trades are reporting that the film’s producers Kevin Feige and Gale Ann Hurd confirmed that not only with The Hulk speak in the film, but that “[Ferrigno's] voice is the voice of the Hulk.” While Ferrigno is best known for his role as The Hulk on the 1970s television series, he also voiced the jade giant in the 1996 animated television series The Incredible Hulk, where he did, in fact, bellow the classic “HULK SMASH” line.

But also this week, veteran voice actor J.D. Hall released a statement boasting that he would be “grunting, groaning and growling as the voice of the Hulk” in The Incredible Hulk and that “his deep and resonating and powerful voice is the sound of the beastly side of the Hulk.”

To add to the mystery, Ferrigno was secretive about his part in The Incredible Hulk in a recent interview with Latino Review: “I am playing a part in the movie, but I can’t contractually say what it is. But it is a surprise. It’s a nice scene.”

If it was only the speaking role, why would he be under gag order when the producers are opening announcing it? So it seems like we might be seeing Ferrigno in the film, too. What could his on-screen part be? And if his voice is in the film, perhaps it’s during scenes where The Hulk speaks, with Hall’s work used for The Hulk’s guttural sounds.