The MCU certainly has a penchant for casting some of the most unexpected actors in its films and shows, and though the audience ends up liking the characters in most of the cases, it looks like there have been mixed reactions this time.
Rumors had it that the renowned Star Wars (1977) actor Harrison Ford would be playing the role of Thaddeus Ross, aka, Thunderbolt Ross in Marvel’s upcoming movie. However, these aren’t rumors anymore, for the news just became official.
Harrison Ford to play the new Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU
Initially, Mwouldnounced that William Hurt was going to play the role of General Thaddeus Ross in the MCU’s new fantasy/sci-fi movie, Thunderbolts. But with the unfortunate passing away of the Body Heat actor earlier this year in July, Harrison Ford is now officially going to be stepping in to play Thunderbolt Ross.
The seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America, Ford has earned recognition for playing some popular roles in movies like Indiana Jones and Blade Runner. And now, he is set to play the role of Thunderbolt Ross, or Red Hulk, as has been depicted in Marvel comics.
Besides Ford, the Thunderbolts’ anti-hero squad in the movie is also going to have Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and many more. The only predicament seems to be the mixed responses this news has elicited from Marvel fans.
Fans are unsure about Harrison Ford playing Thaddeus Ross
Sure, Ford is no William Hurt and no actor could replace him either. But it would also be interesting to see how the Witness star fulfills this role on screen. However, fans seem to be more uncertain than intrigued about it.
With this new piece of information making its way through the Marvel fandom, people are taking it to Twitter to share their thoughts and feelings about it, and they don’t exactly look thrilled.
While some are willing to give Harrison Ford a shot and see how he does in the upcoming film, others are outright unhappy with the casting, claiming that the MCU should have chosen the Road House actor, Sam Elliott instead. Fans feel that because Elliott has already played the role of Thaddeus Ross in Hulk (2003) and was admired for the same, he would be a much better candidate to replace William Hurt than Harrison Ford.
” Was Sam Elliott busy or something? The man wants to be Ross again!”
— Corey Larson-Reichhart (@CoreyReichhart) October 14, 2022
It does make some sense, that fans seem to be preferring Elliott over Ford, considering how the former is already familiar with the blueprint of Ross’ character, but the latter might just end up impressing the audience too.
“Why not bring back Sam Elliott he was a great Thunderbolt Ross.”
— Donavan Pulver (@Dmanatorgamer) October 14, 2022
“I don’t know how I feel about Harrison Ford as Red Hulk if it’s true. I would’ve much prefer Liv Tyler as Red Hulk or bring back Sam Elliott and revamp his Thunderbolt Ross to fit in the MCU.”
— Elliott Bullock II 🎃👻 (@Elliott_Bull2) October 14, 2022
Harrison Ford seems to have some great shoes to fill in, especially if he’s planning on proving people wrong and winning their hearts instead.
Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts is set to release on July 26, 2024.