Harrison Ford Rumored to Play Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts

Harrison Ford has reportedly joined the star-studded cast of Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts, replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. Hurt — who played the mustached Army general in 2008's The Incredible Hulk before returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Secretary Ross in such films as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and Black Widow — died in March at age 71. Following a September report that Ford was Marvel's top choice to play a recast Ross in Thunderbolts, /Film has confirmed the Star Wars and Indiana Jones actor is entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Insider Jeff Sneider of The Ankler previously reported Ford will debut as "Thunderbolt" Ross in Captain America: New World Order, which stars Anthony Mackie as the titular star-spangled Avenger and is scheduled to open in theaters on May 3rd, 2024.

Ford joins a Thunderbolts roster that includes Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh and David Harbour (Black Widow) as Yelena Belova/Black Widow and Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as US Agent, Hannah John Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow) as Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the shadowy Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Directed by Jake Schreier (Lodge 49, Kidding) is directing Thunderbolts, set to open in theaters on July 26th, 2024. Eric Pearson (Black Widow) wrote the script.

"These look like a good, troubled bunch — and Bucky knows a thing about that," Stan, who has played Barnes since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, said when the Thunderbolts cast was announced on stage at Disney's D23 Expo. Added Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige, "It tells you a lot about the team when the Winter Soldier is the most stable among them."

How this team of anti-heroes comes together in Thunderbolts is "one of the initial mysteries," Harbour exclusively told ComicBook at D23. "I just made a joke about it's like Dungeons and Dragons, where you meet in a tavern, and it's like there's a dwarf drinking a beer, and then there's like an elvish figure over there. We all come together, and then there's this ghost... it's not gonna happen like that, I don't think." 

"But I think that's one of the mysteries of the movie is what is their relationship," Harbour continued. "There are a lot of exciting things as you wrap up the next phase in terms of what their part of the whole universe is in this random, chaotic way. We can't say too much at this point, but they're an exciting introduction. That's going to be a lot of fun."

Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts is part of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. See the complete MCU Phase 5 and 6 schedule through 2026.