With the arrival of Red Hulk – a.k.a. Thunderbolt Ross (Harrison Ford) – to the MCU earlier this year with Captain America: Brave New World, we find ourselves with a new big guy in comic-based films. Not only does Ford represent a superstar in his own right, but he also joins two existing stars who have already portrayed Hulks in the MCU. Obviously, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is our original mean green machine, but Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) joined the universe to mixed reviews a couple of years ago. In the closing minutes of that series, a fourth little Hulk was dropped into the fray. Now that we have four Hulks, how do we see the future of the MCU handling these characters?
Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
At the end of Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolt Ross is locked up at the Raft. With the Red Hulk in custody, he does not pose a threat to the rest of the world as long as he’s contained, but given the strength he showed in just a few minutes of screentime, it’s questionable to say he is gone for good. Much of that may depend on how much Ford, who turns 83 in July, wants to return to the franchise.
That said, Thunderbolt Ross could still play a more significant role in the near future. With Thunderbolts on the horizon, we would be surprised if a cameo for Ford is out of the question. The return to The Raft makes it impossible to ignore its potential role for the MCU. As more high-profile antiheroes find their way to the prison, they could become new members or recruits for new teams. Thaddeus might be integral to building a new strike team in the imminent Secret Wars.
The Future of She-Hulk
The rumors suggest that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will not be getting a second season anytime soon. However, does this mean the character will disappear from the MCU? Given Jennifer Walters’ ties to Bruce Banner, that seems unlikely. While much of the larger MCU fandom did not like the show, there was a crowd of supporters throughout who would not mind seeing her return. Even if Maslany only finds her way back into the franchise via cameos and side-character parts of the future MCU, that would be enough to satiate those who loved the show.
Additionally, the MCU is missing big, powerful heroes. With the number of threats already emerging for Phase 5, the Avengers will need a member like She-Hulk to go toe-to-toe with the new villains. Additionally, more money can be spent on the visual effects of She-Hulk in the context of a movie. It’s clear that Disney spent too much per episode on the previous series, but in a larger project, the financial returns of a movie will offset this issue.
Where’s Bruce? Also, he has a kid?
The original Hulk (well, at least the latest version of Bruce Banner) continues to roam the Earth. We know he’s been helping out his cousin with training, but Banner has also gone missing for longer than one might think. He also arrived with a son — Skaar (Wil Deusner) — at the end of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. This adds a fourth Hulk to our growing family tree, but he has not had the screentime to become a stalwart for the MCU fandom.
Hulk has always been a protective character in the MCU, even when “The Big Guy” ran solo. Will Bruce find his way back into the fray without his family’s endangerment? Or is there a plan for Ruffalo to cameo in one of the upcoming projects on the Marvel slate? It feels like Doomsday and Secret Wars are too long for us to wait for Hulk to reappear, but frankly, his role in Doomsday seems like the next logical moment for his return.
Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday Looms Large
There’s ultimately a larger question about the role of Secret Wars in shaping the future of the MCU. Multiverses are going to collapse on each other. New heroes and villains will emerge. However, with four Hulks roaming the Earth (and a potential fifth if Amadeus Cho ever gets involved), we may need some consolidation. While Secret Wars is the obvious place for this to occur, we’re only 18 months away from Avengers: Doomsday bringing Robert Downey Jr. back into the fold. Will the Hulks have a role in that battle first?
Given Ford’s unlikely return beyond the next few years of movies, he may be among the most obvious characters to return immediately. He could also be on the chopping block as a casualty that feels like a high-stakes loss, even if it’s just providing the end for the Thunderbolt Ross story. Negativity towards the She-Hulk franchise and Ruffalo’s run in the MCU lasting over a decade provide potential pitfalls for those characters. Meanwhile, Skaar does not have the runway to ingratiate himself to audiences unless he arrives in one of the upcoming shows or movies.
A mini-team consisting of Hulks in Doomsday might be the only way for that to happen, and if not, expect the group to arrive in Secret Wars. The hype for that movie continues to build, and using Hulks as potential victims in the skirmish will be a huge talking point in the years ahead. Yet, at the same time, how the character is used going forward will have a strong effect on the MCU as a whole. Because of this, we need to keep our eyes on the many Hulks in motion.
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