Harrison Ford's Red Hulk frowns at Christian Bale's Gorr and James Spader's Ultron

Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk has enough potential to be a recurring character after his introduction in Captain America: Brave New World, unlike many other MCU villains. Thaddeus Ross’ MCU story took a while to reach its climax. Ross’ journey began in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, was put on hold until 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, and briefly resumed in 2021’s Black Widow before Red Hulk appears on the scene in 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World. In retrospect, Thaddeus Ross’ transformation into Red Hulk may have been inevitable despite Hulk’s lack of a solo movie and Ross’ required recasting following William Hurt’s passing.

Ross sides with the Leader and the Intelligencia to transform into the Red Hulk in the comics, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in Captain America: Brave New World. Instead, Harrison Ford’s President Ross appears to be an involuntary guinea pig for the Leader’s experiments. Ford’s Red Hulk will star in at least one action-packed fight scene with Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, but Captain America: Brave New World‘s real antagonist may be Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns a.k.a. The Leader, though his evil plans haven’t been made clear by the movie’s trailers and promotional material yet.

The MCU Has Wasted Many Villains Throughout The Years

Many MCU Villains Have Had One-Off Appearances Despite Their Potential

Yon-Rogg in the desert in Captain Marvel Malekith with a scarred face in Thor The Dark World Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius using Dark Dimension power in Doctor Strange Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher in the Shadow Realm in 2022's Thor Love and Thunder

The MCU has discarded most of its main villains since Phase 1. Antagonists such as Iron Monger, Malekith, Ronan, Yon-Rogg, and Gorr the God Butcher died in the same movie they were introduced, and other villains like Abomination, Red Skull, and Ultron remained absent for several years before Marvel came up with a way to bring them back in smaller roles. Some of these antagonists made a better impression than others, but it’s evident that talented actors like Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, and Christian Bale could have delivered performances as good as Josh Brolin and Tom Hiddleston’s if only the MCU had given them more substantial roles.

Red Hulk Could Become A Hero After Captain America: Brave New World

Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk Could Have A Better Fate Than Other MCU Villains

Red Hulk with the Hulk and the Abomination in the MCUCustom Image by Kai Young

Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk could easily be killed off or imprisoned indefinitely after his first MCU appearance in Captain America: Brave New World. However, Marvel has the chance to continue his story in future movies. In the comics, Red Hulk departs the Intelligencia and leads his own version of the Thunderbolts, and he later redeems himself by joining the Avengers. Red Hulk replaces the original Hulk in Bruce Banner’s absence, and he participates in events as critical as Avengers vs. X-Men. Considering that Red Hulk might not actually be evil in the MCU, he could make up for his loss of control by helping the Avengers in a future battle.

The MCU has kept Hulk as a supporting character for years, and Hulk-adjacent characters like Abomination, Betty Ross, and Doc Samson have been left behind as well. Captain America: Brave New World brings back Thaddeus Ross, Samuel Sterns, and Betty Ross, so it would be natural for them to retain a significant MCU presence afterward. Marvel Studios may not be able to include them in a Hulk-centric movie due to Universal’s ownership of Hulk’s distribution rights, but characters like Red Hulk and the Leader could continue to pop up in future MCU installments and have a long character arc of their own regardless.