Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are still taking in the multiple announcements and developments both from the recent San Diego Comic Con and last weekend’s D23 event. We now know the next big Marvel superhero film on the horizon is “Captain America: Brave New World.” It’s set to open on or before Valentine’s Day (depending on where you are in the world) next year.
As with a lot of the current Marvel products out there, viewers are better off with context from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Captain America Civil War,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and yes, even 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” movie with Edward Norton. A bit of review is needed on the Sokovia Accords, Tiamut from “The Eternals,” and both vibranium and adamantium. I personally think it’s a career to keep track of all the history, lore and characters in pop culture these days.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is the new Captain America, with Joaquin Torres (“Top Gun: Maverick’s” Danny Ramirez) as the new Falcon. Steve Rogers turned over his shield to Sam Wilson in “Avengers: Endgame” and we met Joaquin in “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.”
Actor Tim Blake Nelson is back after 16 years as Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, and everyone’s go-too villain actor, Giancarlo Esposito, now joins Marvel as Sidewinder, King of the Serpent Society. He wasn’t at Comic-Con, but actor Takehiro Hira from “Shogun” and “Monarch” will play the Japanese Prime Minister.
The character of Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has been played by William Hurt in the past in many of the movies. Hurt passed away in 2022. The panel moderator told the audience that director Julius Onah couldn’t make it due to Covid but introduced someone “who was way cooler and a bit more red.”
That person was Harrison Ford, who would now play President Ross and Red Hulk.
Harrison Ford is President Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross/Red Hulk in next year’s ‘Captain America: Brave New World.’
The tough thing about being in the press line for Marvel, which happens right after the Hall H panel, is you’re not getting the reveals or the full experience, and you have to scramble for good questions while waiting for the call sheets with the other journalists.
I worked with Adrian Arcega of Nerd Rage for my moment with Harrison Ford, and it turns out the moderator asked a similar question — about portraying a president. He just said, “I’ll make no reference to current history. None.” He then quickly started joking around with the cast and Anthony Mackie.
I was able to ask him how he approached playing a president this time around. Ford played the president in 1997’s “Air Force One,” where he famously uttered the lines, “Get off my plane,” to the villain played by Gary Oldman.
Ford started with a laugh and said, “Well, this is a different kind of president — a president beset by a certain condition. So far, happily, we have not had a president who’s had the ability to turn into a Hulk. Although some of them have come close.”
He then gave a distinctive wink, which made me laugh.
He concluded: “That’s a subject I really don’t want to continue to talk about very much.”
To watch the video clip of this interview as well as other pop cultures, you can go to the August 5 episode of “Nerd Rage TV” on Facebook.
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