The highly anticipated next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” is still months away from satiating fan’s appetites for story details. However, the rumor mill is still constantly churning with potential plot spoilers. The latest speculates a budding romance between Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Speculation that the duo will pair up in Joss Whedon’s upcoming sequel have been running rampant since the first 15 minutes of the movie was supposedly leaked online. According to Movie Pilot, the footage showed Banner and Widow at the now famous party scene, and the two are allegedly “quite obviously into each other.” It’s worth mentioning that the footage doesn’t appear to be online anymore so information about what it contained has to be taken with a grain of salt. However, if the movie is planning on taking the pair’s relationship to new heights, it would be a drastic, yet poetic, shift from their relationship in the first movie.

Fans of “Avengers” will remember that the first time Banner went Hulk in the movie he almost killed Black Widow. Although she narrowly escaped, it was the one and only time the character has ever appeared visibly shaken. Banner later apologized for “the other guy’s” actions and she accepted both his apology and him as a hero.

The Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, spoke about the romance rumors at San Diego Comic Con when “Age of Ultron” footage was first debuted at the Marvel panel.

“They have a very complex relationship and the Widow seems to be the only one who can interface with the Hulk as well, and that’s an interesting relationship,” he told MTV News. “As far as all the superheroes go, they’re kind of in a weird way the most similar and so there’s a lot of comfort that they find in each other. They understand each other.”

So, that can be taken as confirmation that Banner/The Hulk and Widow will have some kind of special relationship in the upcoming movie. However, any prospects of romance between the two remain very much the stuff of rumors. This isn’t the first time that the Black Widow has been rumored to pair up with an Avenger. Last year, when it was revealed she’d co-star in “Captain America: The Winter Solider” many believed that a romance would blossom between the two characters. [Spoiler Alert] Nothing happened between them other than a kiss, which was a strictly tactical move to hide from assassins (we’ve all been there). “The Winter Soldier” showed that Widow is capable of intimate relationships with Avengers that aren’t necessarily romantic. This could be the case for her and Banner in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Still, that touching hand hold between the two characters in the sequel’s trailer looks like there’s something big going on there. Fans will simply have to wait out the excruciating time between now and the movie’s release on May 1.

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