Captain America: Brave New World drew a mixed response from fans and critics alike. However, many fans agree that Harrison Ford's take on President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and the rampaging Red Hulk were two of the movie's biggest successes.
The villain was only unleashed for 10 minutes in the movie, but still made a lasting impact. Marvel Studios also left the door open to Ford reprising the role in a future MCU project, though it remains to be seen whether that's as part of the Avengers franchise or World War Hulk.
It's already been confirmed that a version of Red Hulk with Ross' trademark moustache was considered, and director Julius Onah has now confirmed that we nearly got to see the rageful Commander in Chief wield a gun.
"There was a point in time, actually, it didn't make the movie, where Red Hulk, arcing back to publishing, wielded a gun, and it just didn't feel quite right for the actual movie," the filmmaker confirmed in a recent interview.
This would have made for a cool visual, but it's easy enough to see why it didn't make the cut. Marvel Studios attempted to ground Captain America: Brave New World in reality, so Red Hulk wielding a massive gun feels somewhat contradictory to that.
On the other hand, the movie would have benefited greatly from being a little more fun, something that was evident from attempts to make The Leader a sympathetic figure rather than the twisted mastermind from the comics.
You can watch the full interview with Onah on Captain America: Brave New World in the player below.
In Captain America: Brave New World, after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam Wilson finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The movie stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The movie is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
"Flawed but functional, Captain America: Brave New World's many problems are largely forgotten any time Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford electrify the screen," we said in our review. "And when Red Hulk shows up, the movie reaches new heights of awesome."
Captain America: Brave New World arrives on Disney+ on May 28.