Captain America: New World Order Bringing Back Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross

After a 15-year absence from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that Liv Tyler is set to return to the franchise to reprise her role of Betty Ross for Captain America: New World Order. Tyler’s only venture into the MCU was 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which debuted just months after the official launch of the MCU with Iron Man. That Hulk film starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, though the actor would leave the role and see Mark Ruffalo taking over the character in Marvel’s The Avengers and has appeared in all subsequent appearances since. Captain America: New World Order is set to hit theaters on May 3, 2024.

The Incredible Hulk continues to serve as a bit of an anomaly for the MCU as audiences know it, as it was a joint production between Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures. Especially following the recasting of Ruffalo as Banner, events from that film were largely ignored for years, up until 2016’s Captain America: Civil War saw the return of William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Betty’s father. In 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings brought back Tim Roth’s Abomination, who earned a more prominent role in last year’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. 

New World Order will also be bringing back Thunderbolt Ross, but in the wake of Hurt’s passing, Harrison Ford is taking over the role. Another Incredible Hulk character, Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, is set to serve as the antagonist to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson.

Prior to Tyler, Betty Ross was played by Jennifer Connelly in the 2003 Hulk from Ang Lee.

While Hulk himself has had a number of appearances over the years since the release of The Incredible Hulk, some behind-the-scenes challenges have prevented the character from earning his own solo outing. Similar to how other studios owned the rights to characters like Spider-Man or the X-Men, Universal holds the rights to any film featuring Hulk as the main hero, which would require Marvel Studios and Universal to negotiate a deal for a solo film to happen. Given the success the studio has earned by using the character in more ensemble outings, we likely shouldn’t expect to see a solo Hulk film anytime soon, though audiences will be excited to see New World Order bringing back so many elements from The Incredible Hulk for the upcoming adventure.

Stay tuned for details on Captain America: New World Order before it hits theaters on May 3, 2024.

Are you excited for Tyler’s return? Let us know in the comments!