With Captain America: Brave New World hitting theaters next year, one of the main casting and storylines that is getting a lot of fan attention is Thunderbolt Ross. Unfortunately, the original MCU Thunderbolt, played by William Hurt, passed away in 2022. This news meant that the plans to have Thunderbolt take a lead role in the new Captain America film could’ve been taking a backseat. However, the news of Harrison Ford taking over the character filled fans, like myself, with a lot of excitement and for good reason. Harrison Ford is a fantastic actor and his recent roles have shown that he knows how to pick a good script.
Red Hulk Appearance
Red Hulk has been a rumored character in the MCU for over a decade now and recent trailers and posters have confirmed the appearance. With this in mind, it feels like we are getting closer to finally seeing Hulk and Red Hulk face off. The use of Thunderbolt Ross and Red Hulk seems to point to him being the villain of this despite it being confirmed that Giancarlo Esposito will be playing one of the main villains.
What Will Thunderbolt Ross’ Role Be?
It has been confirmed in press releases and trailers/other promo footage that Thunderbolt Ross is the President of the United States. Now, the most recent news we had of the Presidential status in the MCU was Dermot Mulroney playing President Ritson in Secret Invasion. This could be seen as a slight error and a way to force Thunderbolt into the story but, I think most people would agree that if there were election betting odds for Thunderbolt and Ritson, Thunderbolt would be the clear favorite.
It has been confirmed that the first appearance of the Red Hulk will be in a board meeting with US officials, this makes me think that Thunderbolt may lose his position and will most likely be neutralized by Sam at the end of the film.
Why Do I Think This?
Even with the potential of Red Hulk vs The Hulk within touching distance, I can’t see Harrison Ford signing on to do more than one MCU film. Also, in my personal opinion, Banner’s Hulk in the MCU is one of my least favorite characters, he is a punchline and isn’t the Hulk anymore.
The addition of Red Hulk fills me with confidence that we will be able to see a true Hulk again and not a comic relief character in the form of one of the MCU’s scariest heroes.
What Next?
Even though I did just predict his death, I can also see him surviving. I would prefer this and I would love it if Red Hulk surviving and being a villain could bring Banner Hulk back to his best. If I were to predict his next moves after Red Hulk comes out, he will most likely no longer be the President, unfortunately, and he will be a larger MCU problem over the next few films.
The Issue With MCU Villains
As a big Marvel fan, I want to be positive in nearly everything that the MCU does, even if as of recently, they have been letting themselves down. One of my main issues has been the villains and the failures that surround them.
The MCU villains are either killed off too soon or played for jokes, two of the best examples here are both from Thor films, even though I loved Ragnarok, Hela could’ve been a returning character and even been in the next Thor film with Gorr.
Speaking of Thor 4, Gorr is a poor excuse for a villain and a major disrespect to the character. Again, they turned a scary villain from the comics into a joke and this negatively impacted the film and has most likely put Christian Bale off comic book movies. Now, Marvel could bring in a villain and make him stick and be menacing and I hope this is what they do.
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