Looks like Harrison Ford is hyper-speeding away from a far, far away galaxy to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As first confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, the Star Wars icon will star in the upcoming fourth Captain America film, New World Order, as “Thunderbolt” Ross, a role that was originated by the late William Hurt in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Ford’s MCU debut arrives as he’s preparing to bid farewell to the Indiana Jones franchise, which will wrap up with James Mangold’s fifth adventure next year. Appearing at Disney’s D23 Expo 2022 earlier this year, the actor said that his last outing as the archeologist adventurer will be worth the wait.
“Thank you for making these films such an incredible experience for all of us,” Ford told the crowd. “I’m very proud to say that this one is fantastic …. Indiana Jones movies are about fantasy and mystery, but they’re also about heart. We have a really great story to tell, as well as a movie that will kick your ass.”
Speaking of kicking ass, Captain America: New World Order — due in theaters on May 3, 2024 — will be the first big-screen solo outing for Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as everyone’s favorite shield-carrying Avenger, having assumed the mantle from Chris Evans’s now-retired Steve Rogers. Co-written by Malcolm Spellman, who oversaw the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and directed by Julius Onah, the film also lay the groundwork for Thunderbolts, which is currently scheduled to follow New World Order into theaters on July 26, 2024.
As the title implies, Ford’s Ross will also be a player in Thunderbolts, a team-up feature that’s essentially the MCU’s answer to The Suicide Squad. The movie will pair some of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes — including Black Widow‘s Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), FAWS’s John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) — for a top-secret mission that some of them may not survive.
Stay tuned to see if that top-secret mission involves uncovering a certain Ark of the Covenant…
Captain America 4 is due in theaters on May 3, 2024.
