At the D23 Expo last month, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the cast of “Thunderbolts,” the film that will close out MCU‘s Phase 5 in July 2024. And the cast includes who Marvel fans expected, with Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, and Hannah John-Kamen reprising their roles from previous “Captain America” content.
But what about Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross? The late William Hurt played the character in earlier MCU films, and Ross likely plays an integral role in the upcoming movie; he’s the film’s namesake, after all. Well, /Film reports that Feige and Marvel Studios have found their replacement for Hurt, and it’s none other than Harrison Ford. /Film independently confirms the news, which broke live on “The Hot Mic With John Rocha And Jeff Sneider” yesterday. And Ford will debut as the character earlier than “Thunderbolts.” He’ll play Ross first in “Captain America: New World Order,” which has a tentative May 3, 2024 release date, right before “Thunderbolts.”
Consider Ford joining the MCU a significant franchise casting for Kevin Feige. Ford’s reputation precedes itself, having starred in franchises like “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” and “Blade Runner.” And Ford has big shoes to fill with Ross’s character. In the Marvel comics, Ross leads the Thunderbolts ensemble similarly to how Viola Davis‘ Amanda Waller runs her merc antiheroes in the “Suicide Squad” films. Ross becomes the “Red Hulk” in the Marvel comics, too, so it’s entirely possible that the 80-year-old Ford may suit up in a motion capture suit sometime down the line.
Is Ford a little too old to join the MCU? Considering that he just finished filming the latest “Indiana Jones” movie, he may still have some mileage as an action star. But don’t expect his rendition of Thaddeus Ross to suit up with the likes of Pugh’s Yelena Belova or Stan’s Bucky Barnes. Instead, expect Ross to be a behind-the-scenes player like Davis’ Waller, engineering action from the sidelines.
As mentioned earlier, “Captain America: New World Order” currently has a May 3, 2024 release date, and “Thunderbolts” has a July 26, 2024 release date. However, given the recent delays to “Blade,” which got pushed to September 2024 from November 23, and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which got delayed to 2026, expect Ford’s first foray as Thaddeus Ross may come a little later than two years from now.