In Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) isn’t just going to be electepresident of the United States — he’s also going to transform at one point in the film into a red-skinned Hulk. The character’s angry transformation has been teased heavily in the early Captain America: Brave New World trailers, and for good reason. Not only have comic book fans been waiting years to see a version of the Red Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the character’s climactic showdown with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) also looks like it is going to be Brave New World‘s biggest set piece.
In a recent interview with Empire, Brave New World director Julius Onah called Ford’s performance in the film “mind-blowing.” He added “All of us on set were like, ‘Holy f**king s**t, he nailed it.’” While Marvel has mined plenty of humor and drama out of Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) transformation into a smarter Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, Onah says it was fun for him to bring an angry, uncontrollable Hulk back to the MCU. “It’s really great to get back to a Hulk that is just f**king breaking s**t,” the director confessed, calling Ford’s Red Hulk “a rage monster.”
Ford’s transformation has been at the center of many of Captain America: Brave New World‘s marketing materials, but he says that he was less worried about inhabiting his character’s enraged Hulk state and more about taking over for original Thaddeus Ross actor William Hurt, who passed away in 2022. “I was a little concerned about taking over from Bill Hurt, who was a wonderful actor,” Ford told Empire. “I’m only slightly familiar with the Marvel Universe — I live in another universe — but I have watched a number of Marvel films with wonderful actors, apparently having a good time. And I thought, ‘Well, why not me?’”
Despite how incredible Onah says his performance turned out to be, Ford admits that he didn’t feel any pressure to overthink his role in Brave New World. “I tried to understand the ambition of the filmmakers, and to be useful to them,” he recalled. “I just didn’t sit home at night and say, ‘Oh, what do I want to do when I turn into the Hulk?’ It didn’t seem to me to be a terribly difficult acting proposition.”
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Marvel fans will get to appreciate the full scope of Ford’s Red Hulk performance when Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
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