Harrison Ford has been cast in the role of Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross in the MCU. The Oscar-nominated actor will take over the role of the infamous Marvel General following the death of the character’s original actor, William Hurt, this past March.
Ford, who was cast by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, will play General Ross in multiple movies, beginning with Captain America: New World Order. Reporter Jeff Sneider first shared the news on Twitter, tweeting: “We’re hearing Harrison Ford HAS, in fact, been cast as Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, who is expected to make his first appearance in… CAPTAIN AMERICA 4.”
The casting news was later confirmed by /Film, which added that Ford will also be appearing in Marvel’s Thunderbolts, the upcoming supervillain ensemble feature that will serve as the conclusion to Marvel’s Phase 5. Based on traditional depictions of the team in the comics, several other MCU characters, including Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, will also appear in Thunderbolts.
General Ross first appeared in the MCU in the 2008 movie, The Incredible Hulk. Hurt reprised the role in Captain America: Civil War, the final two Infinity Saga Avengers films and Black Widow.
It’s currently unclear how Ford’s version of General Ross will be presented out in the MCU’s upcoming projects. However, a more fan-pleasing version of Ross is expected to appear in the franchise’s upcoming projects.
A recent episode of Marvel’s She-Hulk teased a Red Hulk, which is what happens to General Ross in the comic books. The Red Hulk was created as part of a super soldier program by Intelligencia, an organization that also appeared on the MCU Disney+ television series. He soon became a fan favorite, as he’s a more tactical, weapon-toting Hulk.
However, Marvel’s Hulk roles often involve a lot of motion capture work, and it’s not presently known if Ford will wear a motion capture suit to bring Red Hulk to the big screen. Even if the actor doesn’t play the Red Hulk, the MCU appears eager to continue General Ross’ legacy on screen in future films.
The fourth Captain America movie, New World Order, will be directed by Julius Onah [Luce, The Cloverfield Paradox], and Thunderbolts will be helmed by Jake Schreier [Robot & Frank, Paper Towns]. Captain America: New World Order will be release on May 3, 2024, and Thunderbolts will be distributed on July 26, 2024.