Last week, a very interesting rumour started doing the rounds suggesting that Marvel Studios might be eyeing Star Wars icon Harrison Ford to play the new General "Thunderbolt" Ross in Thunderbolts. William Hurt originally played the military antagonist in the MCU, but passed away earlier this year; since then, the assumption has been that Ross might be killed off-screen.
Instead, the plan seems to be to continue telling Ross' story, something comic book fans hope will culminate in him transforming into the villainous Red Hulk in Thunderbolts.
Now, Jeff Sneider has elaborated on his scoop on The Hot Mic podcast (via ActioNewz.com), claiming that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy pushed for Marvel Studios to hold off on announcing anything at D23. Why? Understandably, she hoped to keep the focus on next year's Indiana Jones 5.
"So, what I initially heard is that this was a done deal for D23, that they actually wanted to announce him as a cast member in Thunderbolts at D23," he explains. "They didn't because Kathleen Kennedy put her foot down and said, 'No, we're going to keep the focus on Indiana Jones 5 content.'"
"'I don't want this to become Harrison Ford joining the MCU, we're going to keep the focus on Indy 5 right now.'"
That does add up, and there's no denying that Ford signing up to join the MCU would have taken a lot of attention away from the next instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Hopefully, this rumour is true because it's incredibly exciting, and we're hoping some sort of official announcement will come our way from the trades soon.
While Hurt delivered a memorable portrayal of the General in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Black Widow, the character played a small enough role in the MCU that recasting him wouldn't be overly jarring. Only time will tell whether this rumour is true, but we're going to keep an eye on this one.
Thunderbolts is set to be released in theatres on July 26, 2024. As for Indiana Jones 5, that's heading our way on June 30, 2023.