Harrison Ford says he is excited to be making his Marvel Cinematic debut as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk in next year’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” but maybe don’t ask him about any specifics related to the MCU. At this year’s Comic-Con, where Ford was on hand to promote the fourth “Captain America” tentpole, the actor was asked about elements of the MCU’s ever-expanding multiverse and appeared humorously baffled.
“‘Deadpool & Wolverine” set up anchor beings, meaning if they die the universe dies,” ScreenRant told Ford on the Marvel Comic-Con press line. “Who do you think would be the anchor being of 616? The universe you are in.”
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“616?” Ford asked back in complete puzzlement. “I am in universe 616? I am out of my orbit!”
Ford walked away and his reaction has since gone viral on social media. He did speak lovingly of Marvel when answering a previous question about how the MCU stands out compared to his other iconic franchises like “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones.”
“It’s a whole different cut of cloth, isn’t it?” he said. “Free of some normal constraints to the imagination. It’s delightful to deal with and it’s fun. The people I worked with were fantastic. The director, Julius Onah, did a terrific job. Mr. [Anthony] Mackie is great fun to work with. We had a good time. I enjoyed it.”
In the MCU’s multiverse, Earth-616 is known as “The Sacred Timeline” and is home to all of the events that have played out in the MCU films. Not that Ford would know that. He has always shown a hilarious disinterest in the fan-obsessed minutiae of his beloved franchises. When asked once if Han Solo or Greedo shot first in the original “Star Wars” film (a debate that fans have discussed for decades), Ford once infamously answered: “I don’t care.”
Ford is taking over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the MCU from the late William Hurt. Speaking to Inverselast year, Mackie remembered being so intimidated on the first day of filming “Captain America: Brave New World” with Ford.
“I couldn’t remember my lines. He’s Harrison fucking Ford,” Mackie said. “There is this aura about him. But he dispels that really quickly because he’s such a cool guy. He’s everything a movie star should be. He would say, ‘Let’s shoot this piece of shit.’ And everybody was like, ‘Yeah, let’s shoot this shit.’”
Ford also spoke withPvNewon the Comic-Con press line, joking about the motion capture process required to turn him into the Red Hulk.
“What did it take? It took not caring. It took being an idiot for money, which I’ve done before,” Ford quipped.
“I don’t mean to disparage it. I’m just saying you have to do certain things that normally your mother would not want you to do — or your acting coach, if you had one,” he added. “But it’s fun, and I enjoyed it. I had a great time, and I’m delighted at the response that we got with the trailer.”
“Captain America: Brave New World” hits theaters next year on Feb. 12, 2025.
