Harrison Ford has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a development that has both delighted and amused fans.
Rumours had been swirling for weeks that Marvel was eyeing Ford to take over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from the late William Hurt, who played the character in numerous films between 2008 and 2021.
The news was confirmed by Deadline on Monday (17 October), which reported that Ford will appear in Captain America: New World Order starring Anthony Mackie as the titular superhero.
The film, directed by Julius Onah, is currently scheduled for release in the summer of 2024.
News of him joining the franchise was previously rumoured by Jeff Sneider of The Hot Mic With John Rocha and Jeff Sneider podcast and Slash Film.
Many fans have been joking that Ford – who is famously unenthusiastic about the plot intricacies and fan theories of the other major franchise he has starred in, Star Wars – will be grumpy about Marvel questions on the movies’ press tours.
One person tweeted an imaginary interaction between a journalist and Ford, writing: “Interviewer: ‘What would Thunderbolt Ross and Han Solo say to each other if they ever met?’
“Harrison Ford: ‘I don’t care.’”
Another posted: ‘You think it’s possible you could play another version of your character via the multiverse?’ Harrison Ford: ‘What the f*** is a multiverse?’
A third wrote: “Harrison Ford being interviewed about the MCU: ‘I don’t give a s*** about any superhero and if you ask me about it I’ll kill you.’”
“Harrison Ford found a job he’s going to hate more than Star Wars at long last,” posted a fourth.
In an interview about his cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2020, Ford said to a journalist who asked whether his character Han Solo had returned as a Force ghost: “A Force ghost? I don’t know what a Force ghost is. I have no f***ing idea what a Force ghost is. And I don’t care.”
Ford can next be seen in Indiana Jones 5, out next July, alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen.
