William Hurt first played General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. His final appearance as the character came in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Tragically, he passed away in 2022 from prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones, leaving behind a terrific legacy of outstanding movies. He was just 71 years old.
Despite Hurt’s untimely death, Marvel Studios still has plans for General Ross. The respected actor’s role is in safe hands, as the legendary Harrison Ford is set to take over from the late Hurt in 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World (despite the Star Wars and Indiana Jones star humorously insisting that’s not the case).
Rather excitingly, Ford’s Ross is expected to transform into the mighty Red Hulk and face off against Anthony Mackie’s Captain America. It could be the best live-action depiction of a Hulk character yet – even better than Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton – and there are several reasons why that’s the case.
The Aesthetic
Sure, Hulk is a mighty beast of a character, but there’s no escaping the fact he’s green. Green is the color of peas, stereotypical little men from Mars, and strongly associated with envy. Jokes aside, red is a mighty color, the color of blood, and strongly associated with rage and danger. A red-colored Hulk in live-action will look fantastic and intimidating to the extent he could resemble a horror villain. Moreover, the Red Hulk gets hotter the angrier he is, which makes flames emanate from his whole body. Modern CGI will make a character of that description – a walking inferno of pure unbridled rage – aesthetically stupendous.
Red Hulk Is A Genuine Villainous Threat
Every Hulk seen in Marvel movies has had its reckless moments – Ruffalo’s Hulk went berserk under Wanda Maximoff’s mystical influence in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, for instance – but they’ve all ultimately been heroes fighting for the greater good. Ford’s Red Hulk, however, will be the movie’s antagonist and, therefore, get the opportunity to be more destructive than all those who came before him. That will make his appearance a more impressive spectacle than previous live-action Hulks, but also one of the most genuinely threatening villains in the MCU. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson is severely trumped in power against Red Hulk, which will make him one of the most convincing threats in the MCU to date.
Harrison Ford Is Playing Him
As brilliant as Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton are, they aren’t as iconic as Harrison Ford in the acting world. Just think about it for a moment: movie fans will see Harrison Ford – the man responsible for bringing Han Solo and Indiana Jones to life – Hulking out on the big screen. It’s going to be epic. He’s a rugged action veteran who’s ideally suited to the role of General Ross, and giving the grizzled legend a chance to kick some butt in his 80s is something even he would never have expected. The CGI Hulk transformation fixes all age-related limitation issues in that regard, and millions of moviegoers worldwide will happily pay for their tickets and flock to see it.
It Will Offer Something New
Let’s be brutally honest: the number of characters recycled in comic book movies is tiresome. The Hulk, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the Joker, General Zod, Lex Luthor, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, the Punisher, the Green Goblin, Venom, the Riddler, and Two-Face have all been played by multiple actors in different franchises. While General Ross has been played twice – by Sam Elliott and William Hurt, respectively – the Red Hulk is an entirely new character who’ll make his live-action debut in Captain America: Brave New World. No matter how good a superhero movie character is, it’s always refreshing to see new ones being given a chance, and that will make Red Hulk all the more entertaining.
He’s An Existing Character With Depth
Albeit played by a different actor, the character of General Ross has existed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for 16 years, first appearing in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. That means for the first time, the character transforming into a live-action Hulk will already be an established character with depth. MCU Ross is against the idea of superheroes, which makes his transformation into a superpowered character somewhat intriguing. Moreover, he’s a father, a military man, and a politician – the President of the United States, no less – meaning a lot is known about him. How his newfound Hulk powers will affect the other aspects of his life is an exciting prospect that audiences have never considered. Interestingly, there’s room for additional character development, as Red Hulk could follow his comic book path and ultimately join the Avengers.
