Here's What Harrison Ford Would Look Like As Red Hulk

Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross has been an important figure in the MCU since its inception in 2008. First appearing in "The Incredible Hulk," the late William Hurt portrayed the military general obsessed with hunting down the Hulk to weaponize his gamma-based powers. The next time fans saw Ross, in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," he had risen in the ranks of the U.S. government, now serving as the Secretary of State. Ross indirectly leads to the Avengers disbanding after presenting them with the Sokovia Accords. 

William Hurt passed away last year, leaving his MCU role in question, as Marvel was looking to further explore the character in "Captain America: New World Order" and "Thunderbolts." Instead of writing him out of the movies, the studio chose to recast the role, bringing Hollywood legend Harrison Ford into the MCU. 

When fans see Thunderbolt Ross in "New World Order," not only will he look different with Ford taking over, but he's also getting another government promotion. Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly that Ross would be President of the United States in the movie, making for an interesting dynamic between him and Captain America. While that's exciting, what fans really want to see is the character finally transform into his superpowered comic book counterpart, Red Hulk. With Ross playing significant roles in both "New World Order" and "Thunderbolts," it seems like a no-brainer that Marvel would finally transform the character, and thanks to some fan art, we can get an idea of what Ford could look like as Red Hulk.

The fan art of Harrison Ford comes courtesy of Brian Ragle on Instagram, with the artist making numerous mockups of what the actor could look like as Red Hulk. The images show that Marvel Studios continues to nail its casting, as Ford's likeness perfectly lends itself to the Red Hulk persona. If the recent looks of Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) are anything to go off of, as Marvel used both actors' faces on their gamma-infused counterparts, Red Hulk will likely feature sport Ford's face on his massive body.

Of course, this is all based on assumption, as Marvel Studios hasn't confirmed that Thunderbolt Ross will transform into his supervillain counterpart, but they have laid the groundwork for it to happen. After all, what's the point of recasting the character if Marvel isn't planning on bringing in Red Hulk? To sweeten the pot, "Captain America: New World Order" will already feature another gamma-powered villain, with Kevin Feige confirming that Tim Blake Nelson will return as Leader.

Feige's mouth remains shut regarding Ford's role as Ross outside of being the president. During his interview with EW, he said, "There's a dynamic between President Ross and Sam Wilson. They have history together, but in this film, we'll be seeing the dynamic between Captain America and the president of the United States in a way that is just incredible."

While Thunderbolt Ross has had a long career of hunting down the Hulk in the pages of Marvel Comics, his transformation into Red Hulk cemented him as a true adversary to one of the universe's strongest heroes. Following the "World War Hulk" storyline, Leader, M.O.D.O.K., and Doc Samson banded together to use Bruce Banner's body and energy siphoned from the Hulk to transform Ross into Red Hulk. Interestingly, two of those three characters are already in the MCU, with Tim Blake Nelson first appearing as Leader in "The Incredible Hulk," and Corey Stoll debuting as M.O.D.O.K. in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." To further the MCU connection, in the comics, Ross and the three villains form a team called the Intelligencia, which Marvel Studios introduced in "She-Hulk," albeit as a different version.

Throughout his comic book history, Red Hulk has displayed impressive strength by taking on some of the strongest heroes. He defeated Hulk numerous times by simply overpowering him. He fought Thor all the way to the Moon, leaping back to Earth with a single jump. It also took She-Hulk and her entire Lady Liberators team to take him down.

One of Red Hulk's most interesting stories comes from the secretiveness surrounding his identity. When the Intelligencia transformed Ross, they gave him the ability to consciously change back and forth between his forms, which Bruce had to learn to do with the Hulk. Because of this and the convenience of Marvel Comics' robotic Life Model Decoys, Ross could keep his Red Hulk ways a secret. Marvel Studios could really lean into this plot with Ford, as a double life of president of the United States and Red Hulk would make for a very interesting dynamic.