While the cast list for Captain America: Civil War released a few weeks back confirmed that the movie would be pretty much Avengers 2.5, with Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and other members of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes all making an appearance, I think we were all surprised at the inclusion of William Hurt’s General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, not seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, a movie I’d say we all thought was pretty much forgotten in the grand scheme of the MCU (though the Abomination does get a mention in the first of the Marvel One-Shot series of shorts). And it seems the actor is pretty happy to be returning to the fold, saying in an interview with IGN, “I loved playing Ross the first time, because I was able to try and create an ego as big as the monster he was chasing. And one that was warped too.”
But when Marvel Studio’s Phase Three opener hits next year, it will have been eight years since the character has been on the big screen, so we can expect a changed Ross this time round, with the actor saying, “[Ross in Civil War] is different because it’s a different style. It’s a more modernised style. And what they’ve done is they’ve taken the character who was the Ross from the older film and made a new version. This is a much newer Ross. A much different Ross.” This is completely understandable as the universe The Incredible Hulk was part of has changed drastically (the monster Ross spent his life chasing is now considered a hero somewhat), something Hurt has acknowledged, “I haven’t had a lot of time to understand it, but I’m doing the best I can. And they haven’t fired me yet.”
While we have no idea what the future has in store for the MCU, Ross’s return does feel like Marvel Studio’s is laying the foundation of a solo Hulk movie, though with the crazy rights issues surrounding such a project it might be quite a ways off. The character of Ross himself has went through some major changes in the comics (becoming a gamma irradiated monster himself, the red Hulk), so there is plenty of place to take him if Marvel Studios decide to run with him in future movies.
Captain America: Civil War comes our way May 6th 2016.
