Harrison Ford is set to step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Thunderbolts film, where he’ll take on the role of Thunderbolt Ross.
Ford is set to step into a role that was previously played by the late William Hurt, who most recently appeared in the 2021 film Black Widow prior to his death in 2022. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ford revealed what made him decide to step into the role.
“I don’t know. I can’t explain myself to myself, I just work here,” said Ford with a laugh when he was asked about why he decided to take the role. “I thought, ‘Everybody else seems to be having a great time.’ I watch all these terrific actors having a good time [in Marvel movies]. I like doing something different to what I’ve ever done and pleasing people with it. So I’ll try a piece of that.”
The character of Thunderbolt Ross has appeared in several Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, including 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. While it’s unclear exactly what his role will be in Thunderbolts, he is a pivotal character in the comics group.
During the Marvel Studios’ recent panel at D23, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige finally unveiled the cast for the upcoming Thunderbolts film, which will be a team consisting of mostly supervillains and antiheroes. It includes Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah Jon-Kamen), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kerleynko), Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Florence Pugh), and The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).
The film will be directed by Jake Schreier, whose history as a director isn’t extremely extensive, having only worked on 2012’s Robot & Frank, 2015’s Paper Towns, and the 2021 filmed version of Chance the Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring World Tour.
Thunderbolts is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 26, 2024, as part of Phase 5.
