The action hero is suiting up

The 80-year-old has been drafted into one of the MCU's next big blockbuster projects.

Harrison Ford can now add the Marvel Cinematic Universe to his looooong list of high-profile action hero jobs.

The 'Indiana Jones', 'Star Wars' and 'Fugitive' star will be suiting up as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross for Marvel's fourth official Captain America film, 'Captain America: New World Order'. The role was previously played by William Hurt, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

The Phase Five entry will see Anthony Mackie continue the Cap legacy, following on from the storyline that was set up at the end of the Disney+ series 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'. Mackie's Sam Wilson AKA Falcon finally took up the moniker of Captain America, following in the footsteps first walked by Chris Evans.

Harrison Ford had been rumoured to be joining Marvel for quite some time now, but stepping into the General Ross character seems like a fitting role for the ageing action hero. Ross is a top-ranking military official who has appeared in a number of Marvel projects already - first played by Sam Elliott in 'Hulk' and then by the late William Hurt in numerous MCU films, most recently 'Black Widow'.

Ford's new version of the character will likely take a more central role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward, as the character is the one that sets up the anti-hero group known as the Thunderbolts. With 'Captain America: New World Order' leading directly into the 'Thunderbolts' film during 2024, expect Ford to hang around for more than just one standalone appearance.

Ford's long-awaited return as the snake-hating archaeologist will be hitting our screens in 2023, with 'Indiana Jones 5'. Expected to be the final entry in the long-running franchise, the action story also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelson, Boyd Holbrook and Antonio Banderas.

'New World Order' sees Ford join Anthony Mackie, Shira Haas, Tim Blake Nelson and Carl Lumbly; while 'Thunderbolts' will star Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Olga Kurylenko and David Harbour.

'Captain America: New World Order' hits cinemas on May 3, 2024.