Planet Hulk, one his best-known storylines, partly serves as inspiration for Ragnarok, meaning fans still get the Hulk-in-space goodness they’ve craved.
Though Thor: Ragnarok is not in theaters yet, the footage shown with the Hulk looks fantastic and his relationship with Thor seems incredibly fun.
Placing the Hulk as a side character in other people’s movies is the formula that’s working right now.
The Hulk is not the most interesting character in the MCU and letting him own it as a side character seems to be the way to go.