Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' Cast is Stacked
If a super-team-up of Harrison Ford, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus wasn’t enough, get ready for even more heroes entering the lineup. Ayo Edebiri, the breakout star of Hulu’s The Bear, will officially make her MCU debut. Her role is still a secret, according to The Hollywood Reporter, so it’s not yet known which storied comic book character she may be suiting up as come Thunderbolts’ Summer 2024 release date.
Edibiri will team-up on screen with a host of Marvel’s anti-heros announced at last year’s Disney D23 Expo presentation, including Pugh’s new Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Red Guardian, Taskmaster, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and the recast Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. According to Deadline and /Film, who independently confirmed the news, Harrison Ford is set to replace the late William Hurt as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. The news was originally broken by The Hot Mic with Jeff Sneider and John Rocha podcast, where the film critic duo had been discussing the rumors since late September. Ford’s role will follow his current gig as Jacob Dutton on the hit Yellowstone spin-off series, 1923, as well as his upcoming final appearance as Indiana Jones.
Neither Marvel nor Harrison Ford has commented on the casting announcement, but fans have long known that plans to recast General Ross would have to move forward given the MCU trending toward more Hulk stories. Aside from a potential She-Hulk Season Two, Marvel is also reportedly working on a World War Hulk film. According to Deadline, Ford will make his first appearance as the character in Captain America: New World Order opposite Anthony Mackie, set to debut in May 2024.
In the MCU's past, General Ross appeared in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers; Endgame, and Black Widow. The late William Hurt, who played the character since 2008, passed away due to complications from prostate cancer earlier this year. There is still much more for General "Thunderbolt" Ross to do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, besides hunting for Hulk and forcing the Avengers to sign documents.
In the comics, Ross helps put together the team of reformed villains known as the Thunderbolts, who operate in a similar fashion to DC's Suicide Squad. Many fans expected Red Hulk to join the MCU during the series finale of She-Hulk, but the legal comedy series on Disney+ clearly had other ideas in the works. It would just be icing on the cake to see the 80-year-old Ford gear up in the motion capture suit to get bright red and grapple with the Hulk. Filming is rumored to begin in June, so be on the lookout for more casting announcements and character reveals this summer.
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