Summary

Red Hulk was initially supposed to wield guns in the film, but the idea was scrapped for the final version.
Several action beats, including a visually striking shot of Sam Wilson flipping mid-air, were cut for pacing and clarity.
Fans were frustrated by Marvel Studios revealing Red Hulk in marketing, showing a different portrayal than the comic-accurate gun-wielding version.

Red Hulk, the showpiece of Captain America: Brave New World, could have been very different—and more comic-accurate—than his eventual iteration if Marvel Studios had stuck to its guns… quite literally.

Captain America: Brave New World saw the debut of Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, taking the torch from the late William Hurt. Ross is a U.S. General-turned-President who transforms into the powerful Red Hulk after Tim Blake Nelson's Samuel Sterns provides him with gamma-irradiated pills. He and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson battle atop the White House and the streets of Washington, D.C. Months after release, there’s still fan frustration with Marvel Studios for giving away Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World’s marketing, a move believed to have cost the film commercially.

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By Matthew Wilkinson

Red Hulk Was Initially Supposed To Wield Guns In Captain America: Brave New World

It Is Comic Accurate and Makes Some Sense Given His Military Background

Appearing on JoBlo Celebrity Access on YouTube, Julius Onah, the filmmaker behind Captain America: Brave New World, discussed some aspects of his film, one of which was a what-would-have-been aesthetic choice with Red Hulk. The design in question would have seen the character wield guns against Sam Wilson and the opposing U.S. Security forces.

"There was a point in time, actually, it didn't make the movie, where Red Hulk, arcing back to publishing, wielded a gun and it just didn't feel quite right for the actual movie. But we did have a moment with Harrison shooting as Red Hulk with a gun and that was one of those moments of like, 'I can't believe this is happening right now.' And he plays into it in a way that's really fun, because he knows we're geeking out."

It’s not just Red Hulk’s weaponized redesign that landed on the cutting room floor. Onah also revealed that several action beats were trimmed during post-production for pacing and story clarity. One standout omission was a visually striking high-speed shot of Sam Wilson flipping mid-air and landing on his shield.

“You know, with every movie, you kill a few darlings, right? Because, whether it’s just pace or story or clarity, whatever the case may be, I would say there are a couple of action beats that I really miss. You know, in that hallway fight, there was a high-speed shot where Sam had done a flip and landed on the shield, sort of knocking somebody out, that, in some ways, becomes a sort of tease and a predecessor of a flip that he does later on in the movie when he slices the car. And I love those kind of visual callbacks and those moments where things are in communication with each other across the movie.”

A gun-slinging Red Hulk isn’t in the same boat as Zack Snyder’s trigger-happy Batman. No, unlike the latter, the former does wield powerful firearms in the comics, which aligns with his military training. To abandon that vision in favor of a “smash everything” character not dissimilar to The Hulk feels very much like robbing fans. Picture the first reaction to trailers of a Red Hulk pumping out bullets; it would’ve sent the MCU fandom wild with excitement. It won't have cloaked everything wrong with Captain America: Brave New World, though.

Why Marvel opted to sideline such a design remains unclear. But there’s hope that future appearances of Red Hulk will adopt this design, if Kevin Feige has grand plans for his return. Ross is last seen in his human form, incarcerated in the Raft, a floating prison adrift in the Atlantic. He was notably absent from Thunderbolts*—a curious omission, given the team shares his namesake. Maybe he will break out of the Raft and join forces with Sam Wilson, or better for him, be cured.

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Release Date: February 14, 2025
Runtime: 118 minutes
Director: Julius Onah
Writers: Dalan Musson, Malcolm Spellman
Prequel(s): Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War
Franchise(s): Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe