Harrison Ford had more then enough genre cred prior to signing on to Captain America: Brave New World, the 35th of the Marvel movies in order thanks to Star Wars, Blade Runner and Indiana Jones, among other things. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, as it’s great to see Ford lending his talents to the superhero genre as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who was previously played by the late William Hurt. Ford discussed why he was “a little concerned” about taking over that role, but frankly, I’m more excited about what Brave New World director Julius Onah hyping up Ford as Ross in his Red Hulk form.
Hurt had appeared as Ross in five MCU movies, starting with The Incredible Hulk and ending with Black Widow. So when Ford was approached to play the character in the next upcoming Marvel movie, he didn’t take the opportunity lightly, telling Empire:
I was a little concerned about taking over from Bill Hurt, who was a wonderful actor. I was ambitious to find the right way of assuming this character after the audience had seen other people doing it. I’m only slightly familiar with the Marvel Universe — I live in another universe — but I have watched a number of Marvel films with wonderful actors, apparently having a good time. And I thought, ‘Well, why not me?’
It is indeed a tricky balance of honoring the performance of the actor who came before, but without making it seem like an imitation and making sure you’re able to leave a unique mark on the character. In Harrison Ford’s case for Captain America: Brave New World, it helps that Thunderbolt Ross is in a much different place than when we last saw him. Having previously been the United States’ Secretary of State, the latest Captain America movie picks back up with him being President. He’ll attempt to persuade Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson to agree to operating as Captain America in an official government capacity, and they’ll have a different dynamic compared to what was shown in Captain America: Civil War.
And then there’s the Red Hulk of it all. Like his comic book counterpart, Ford’s Ross will transform into that behemoth during Captain America: Brave New World, although the reason why is still being kept a secret. Julius Onah described Ford’s work in the movie as “mind-blowing” and described his Red Hulk performance as follows:
All of us on set were like, ‘Holy fucking shit, he nailed it. It’s really great to get back to a Hulk that is just fucking breaking shit, and a rage monster.
I was already excited to see Harrison Ford Red Hulk out, especially after last month’s Captain America: Brave New World trailer showed off Red Hulk in all his glory, but Onah’s statement has me even more pumped. I’m especially interested to see if this version of the character is just Hulk with different coloring or, if like in the comics, he emits more heat the angrier he gets rather than become stronger. I also hope this Red Hulk incident isn’t a one-off, and that we could see Thunderbolt Ross turn into him at some other time.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters February 14 on the 2025 movies schedule. Revisit Sam Wilson and Thunderbolt Ross’ previous MCU appearances with your Disney+ subscription.
