After weeks of rumors and speculations amongst fans, DEADLINE has confirmed that Harrison Ford will in fact be playing General Ross in Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts. The addition comes months after the sudden passing of William Hurt, who has played the character numerous times since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Following the passing Chadwick Boseman, Marvel Studios made it clear that T’Challa would not be recast, so this move comes at a little bit of a shock, and I frankly don’t see this as the best fit.
While Ford has played a handful of cocky characters, most notably being Han Solo, Ross is a completely different animal. His nickname “Thunderbolt” was given to him due to his eccentric personality and his ability to burst out in anger at any given moment. So Ford is certainly not the first name that comes to my mind when I think of Ross, or his fiery alter ego, Red Hulk.
Image via The Direct
Ross being confirmed for these two movies, which are currently slated to release back-to-back in 2024, is rather intriguing. Ross isn’t only the leader of the Thunderbolts, but he’s also a member of the team when he becomes Red Hulk. Which leads me to wonder, especially with Tim Blake Nelson reprising his role as Samuel Sterns aka The Leader, how much of a Hulk movie the fourth Captain America film will turn out to be. Will Ross’ deteriorating health last seen in Black Widow lead the Secretary of the State to go to drastic measures to prolong his life? Just like every Hulk, Red Hulk’s power derives off of rage and unlike the other Hulks, Red Hulk emits Gamma Radiation the angrier he gets, and can even “explode” causing a Nuke-like reaction after building up too much anger. While it sounds like Red Hulk is a villain, he’s not, after a few fights with the Hulk that is.
After years of hunting down Bruce Banner to kill the monster within, Ross realizes that maybe the best way to end the Hulk, is to become a Hulk himself. He puts himself through a number of tests with a synthesized version of Gamma Radiation that can cause him to be in control when he “Hulks-out.” He begins, overtime, to see how Bruce struggles with this ability and how he viewed himself as a monster for decades. This realization enables Ross to try to mend the relationship and even teams up with the Hulk from time to time.
Image via Wiki of Nerds
While it’s extremely difficult to envision an 80-year-old Harrison Ford sitting through motion-capture to take his liking and make the Red Hulk in visual effects… Why would they recast Ross and give him at a least two-picture deal, to not give the fans the version of the character that we’ve been wanting to see since Ross reappeared back in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War? Thats’s why I think Red Hulk is inevitable, especially with fans being excited for Thunderbolts, but also being letdown during the D23 reveal of the team back in September with Red Hulk missing.
It’s also entirely possible that now with Bruce Banner having a son in Sakaar, he could be looking to start a family, which leads me to Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross who was last seen in The Incredible Hulk. If Ford doesn’t want to become the Red Hulk due to the long hours of motion capture, maybe his daughter will volunteer in her father’s place for the Red Hulk tests. Red She-Hulk has been a wife and very strong ally to Bruce Banner and would make sense with where the MCU has gone of late, especially following the She-Hulk series which saw family as a dominate aspect of the show.
Image via Disney
There is definitely a time coming in the MCU where the idea of the Hulk will be a long-lasting focal point of the storyline, and it’s coming quickly. Having General Ross play a role to any extent, and possibly Red She-Hulk as well, would make it all the more interesting and would open the avenue for characters like Rick Jones aka A-Bomb to make his MCU debut. The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. area a S.H.I.E.L.D. team made up of a handful of Hulks and take on some rather OP villains. While I don’t know if they’d do this team in the MCU, it’s more than likely that we could see a handful of the characters teaming up. Hulk and Red Hulk will surely have a battle, but following suit they could team-up from there on out.
But at the end of the day, I just can’t see Harrison Ford hulking out as Red Hulk, and Liv Tyler rejoining the MCU remains to be seen. But seeing how the MCU was quick to recast General Ross, Betty Ross would be a breeze. Hopefully we’ll get more information regarding Ford’s take of Ross soon.