Thunderbolts: Harrison Ford is Marvel’s “top choice” for key role

According to a new report, Harrison Ford might be in line to appear in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.

Thunderbolts is already drawing a ton of hype after its cast was announced at D23.

Including stars of the Marvel universe like Red Guardian, Winter Soldier, Taskmaster, US Agent, and Yelena Belova, there is one missing member. That would be the titular head of the group, Thunderbolt Ross.

Even though he is not currently set to appear in the film, reports are showing that he could reappear with a new actor.

Harrison Ford reportedly considered for Thunderbolt Ross

Thunderbolt Ross was previously portrayed by William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and Black Widow. However, the actor passed away in March 2022.

While the MCU has already introduced a potential leader of the Thunderbolts team in Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), it seems odd to still name the team the Thunderbolts without…well Thunderbolt.

But, according to a report from The Ankler’s Jeff Sneider, who appeared on the Hot Mic podcast with John Rocha, Marvel may be considering a recasting of William Hurt with Han Solo himself.

“Multiple sources have indicated that Harrison Ford either is or was the studio’s top choice to star in the Thunderbolts movie as General Ross himself.”

Now, Sneider did note that Marvel has denied this rumor, so it should be taken with a massive pinch of salt. It’s also worth noting that just because Ford is Marvel’s top choice for the role does not mean that he would appear in role, or even that he has had discussions with Marvel.

However, the fact that Marvel seems keen to recast this character is significant, as the studio opted to not recast King T’Challa/Black Panther after actor Chadwick Boseman’s death.

It could be simply a matter of wanting to respect Boseman as an iconic character in Marvel history, whereas General Ross is not as beloved (and Marvel has handwaved away recastings in the past), but fans will certainly be interested if the Harrison Ford rumors continue to heat up.