General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has been a major player in the MCU from its earliest days. He debuted in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, reappearing in Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame and Black Widow. In those movies, he was played by William Hurt, though sadly the beloved actor died in 2022 and the role has been recast with screen legend Harrison Ford.
With the change in casting comes a change in status. As of Captain America: Brave New World, Ross has been elected President of the United States, and it seems he’ll continue to occupy this position when he reappears in Thunderbolts soon afterwards. We don’t know exactly how these stories will play out, but there’s a burning question from comics fans: will Ross finally follow his Marvel comics counterpart and turn into Red Hulk?
Ford is staying tight-lipped. When asked by ComicBook if Red Hulk was finally emerging, Ford played dumb and said “What is the Red Hulk?,” before playfully teasing his Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge for not telling him about this character.
That said, the evidence that the MCU’s new President will be doing some smashing is trickling in, perhaps most notable a picture from the Brave New World set that appears to show Ford with ripped pants.
If this does happen and the heroes have to team up to take down a rampaging bright red President, it’s going to be a truly bonkers movie, so naturally, we’re desperately hoping this comes to pass.
And, let’s face it, with Bruce Banner having reconciled his two halves, the MCU is in sore need of a rampaging gamma-powered behemoth wreaking carnage.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on May 3, 2024.
