Speculation arose recently that Harrison Ford was not just in talks, but already signed on to play General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the sad passing of William Hurt who played the role since 2008, this left a void that needed to be filled. General Ross is apparently going to be a key player for Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the MCU. But did Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy stop this big announcement from happening at the D23 Expo? Check out the details we have so far. The Hot Mic Podcast’s and The Ankler’s Jeff Sneider stated that Harrison Ford was all set to be announced to be cast as Thunderbolt Ross at the recent D23 Expo 2022.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) September 29, 2022 But Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider also mentioned that the announcement was blocked at the last minute by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. According to Sneider: Sneider also recently broke the news that the Marvel Studios Blade reboot lost its director and is going to be rewritten. This initial speculation has been confirmed by Marvel Studios and Beau DeMayo (Moon Knight, X-Men ‘97) is being brought on board to rewrite the Blade script. It seems odd that Lucasfilm and its head honcho went out of its way to stop a major casting announcement for its sister division Marvel Studios under the Disney banner. But the reasoning appears to be to keep the focus on the upcoming Indiana Jones 5, being the swan song for Harrison Ford in this iconic role. Allegedly, announcing Harrison Ford joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have taken away some of the Indiana Jones hype. During the Indiana Jones 5 panel at D23, Harrison Ford tearfully praised the footage and what is in store in the final outing of the iconic adventurer: Meanwhile, the Marvel Studios panel at the D23 event presented the first look at the Thunderbolts. The covert team of super-operatives will include Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), with Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). General Thaddeus E. Ross would have played as an overseer of the government sanctioned team. It was also speculated that he would be part of it, by becoming the Red Hulk (with Hurt continuing to voice the role). But with the passing of William Hurt, these plot points might have to be abandoned unless a new actor is cast. Harrison Ford would certainly be a fine actor to take over from Hurt. As one of the most famous actors in genre films such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Ford would bring star power and his fans to the upcoming Thunderbolts film. And he has taken on roles in an advisory capacity before, as seen in Ender’s Game (2013) and The Expendables 3 (2014). Indiana Jones 5 is set to arrive in theaters on June 30, 2023. Meanwhile, Thunderbolts will be released on July 26, 2024.
