Harrison Ford is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the Oscar-nominated actor is poised to take over the role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from the late William Hurt, who died back in March.
The news comes from the red-hot podcast The Hot Mic with Jeff Sneider and John Rocha (hosted by Above the Line‘s own EIC) which first reported that Marvel was considering Ford for the role. Insiders say that Marvel had hoped to introduce Ford at D23, but that Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy nixed that idea, wanting to keep the crowd’s focus on Ford’s upcoming return as Indiana Jones.
Though Sneider had initially heard that Ford would play Gen. Ross in Marvel’s Thunderbolts movie, it turns out that Ford will make his MCU debut in Captain America: New World Order, the fourth entry in that series, and the first to be led outright by Anthony Mackie, whose Sam Wilson inherited the shield from his pal Steve Rogers.
You can find Sneider’s scoop within the first 10 minutes of the podcast, which later tackles the first reactions to Dwayne Johnson‘s DC movie Black Adam.
Shortly after the news of Ford’s casting began circulating, an insider reached out and told Above the Line that the character of Red Hulk appears in the script for the new Captain America movie, and since Red Hulk is typically the alter ego of Gen. Ross, Ford’s introduction in New World Order would make sense.
Captain America: New World Order will also hit theaters immediately before Thunderbolts, so clearly the two films will share some thematic tissue. NWO arrives May 3, 2024, with Thunderbolts coming two months later on July 26, 2024.
Though Ford is 80 years old, he has been working as hard as ever lately, having wrapped Indiana Jones 5 as well as Season 1 of Apple’s forthcoming comedy series Shrinking, which pairs him with Jason Segel. Ford is also set to star alongside Helen Mirren in a new Taylor Sheridan series titled 1923. He’s represented by UTA.
Marvel has yet to confirm or otherwise comment on Ford’s casting, but we’ll let you know as soon as it’s officially official. Stay tuned…
