Update: After claiming two weeks ago that Harrison Ford was Marvel’s top choice to replace William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Jeff Sneider said on the latest episode of The Hot Mic that Ford has actually been cast in the role. Not only that, but Sneider says that Ford’s first appearance as the character is expected to take place in Captain America: New World Order. If it’s true, we should hear something official before too long.
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Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in The Incredible Hulk. After a lengthy absence from the franchise, Ross returned for Captain America: Civil War and appeared in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. As we know, William Hurt died earlier this year, but the character of Ross might not be gone for good. With the announcement of the Thunderbolts movie, fans had been wondering if Ross will be involved, and Jeff Sneider recently claimed that Marvel is looking at Harrison Ford to step into the role.
While speaking on The Hot Mic with John Rocha, Sneider said that multiple sources have indicated that Harrison Ford either is or was Marvel Studio’s top choice to star in the Thunderbolts movie. It would be best if you took this with a grain of salt at this time, and Sneider himself admits that he may be late with the news and that Harrison Ford may have already passed on the role. Marvel denied the claim, but Sneider went one step further, adding that the studio wanted to announce Harrison Ford as a member of the Thunderbolts movie at the D23 Expo, but Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy wanted to keep the attention on Indiana Jones 5.
The main cast of the Thunderbolts movie was announced at D23, with Sebastian Stan returning as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, Hannah John Kamen as Ghost, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The Thunderbolts movie is set to be directed by Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank), with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) penning the script. Thunderbolts will hit theaters on July 26, 2024.
If Marvel does decide to recast General Ross for the Thunderbolts movie, could you see Harrison Ford playing the role? If not, who would you like to see take over?