Exclusive: Red Hulk Appearing In Captain America 4
We've found out the Red Hulk will finally make an appearance in 2024's Captain America: New World Order.
This article is more than 2 years old
His entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been rumored for years, and now it’s finally going to happen. Our trusted and proven source has informed us that the Red Hulk will finally premiere in the MCU by way of the upcoming Captain America 4, aka Captain America: New World Order. The only question is exactly who this version of the character will prove to be.
In the comics, the original Red Hulk was Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the same character played by William Hurt in the MCU. He gains the awesome power through a dark pact with the villain group The Intelligencia; including bad guys like The Leader, M.O.D.O.K., and the Mad Thinker. He begins his time in the comics as a villain–and honestly never strays too far from his darker urges–but for a time has a more anti-hero status including leading his own version of the Thunderbolts. Sadly, William Hurt passed away in March, leading to the question of exactly what Red Hulk will appear in Captain America 4.
The most obvious answer is that it will be the Thaddeus Ross version of the Red Hulk we’ll meet in the next Captain America movie, but played by a different actor. While Marvel decided to not recast Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, that performance carries a cultural weight that arguably has yet to be felt by any other actor/character pairing in the MCU. Marvel hasn’t shied away from recasting characters before–even leads–and the original Hulk is a perfect example. Not to mention the recasting of James Rhodes and the Red Skull.
But it might actually be somewhat fitting if Marvel were to choose another Red Hulk option for Captain America 4. When the character was introduced in the source material, his identity was kept secret for two years with many fans speculating he was actually Leonard Samson–aka the green-haired Doc Samson or more recently Doc Sasquatch–who Modern Family‘s Ty Burrell played (sans any super powers or green hair) in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. So keeping fans in the dark about who the movie Red Hulk is could be a great nod to the source material.
Should Marvel choose to make a different character the Red Hulk for Captain America 4, one option is General Robert Maverick who premiered as a new government-employed version of Red Hulk in 2016’s U.S. Avengers #1. In human form, Maverick was the spitting image of Thaddeus Ross–who had his powers taken by the original Hulk–though his abilities borrowed a gimmick from DC Comics’s Hourman. Like the Justice Society hero, Maverick could only stay in Hulk form for a relatively short time limit. His time in the Hulk family didn’t last long. In 2018’s Avengers #685, the original Hulk drained Maverick’s powers out of his body.
Another option is that, rather than a Red Hulk, Marvel could bring Red She-Hulk into Captain America 4. Debuting in the comics shortly after her male counterpart and likewise having a secret identity at first, Red She-Hulk ultimately proved to be Ross’s resurrected daughter Betty; who Liv Tyler played in The Incredible Hulk. With the 2008 movie finally being more fully acknowledged in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, it would be nice to see Tyler return to the MCU. And if she returns with super powers and ready to throw down? All the better.
