When I watched the trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, I was surprised to see Harrison Ford pop up. That should tell you how little attention I give to the comings and goings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently, Harrison Ford replaced William Hurt, who passed away in 2022. Ford stepped into the role of Thaddeus Ross, and within the film, he’s president of the United States. He’s also Red Hulk. Well, Marvel has Harrison out here promoting the film and he manages to sound less peeved than usual. Some highlights from his WSJ interview (via Variety):

The “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” box office flop: The film lost Disney a reported $130 million after its global box office haul fell well below the $400 million mark. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Ford shrugged off the disappointment. “Sh-t happens. I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ass and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigor, to see what happened. I’m still happy I made that movie.”

Why he signed on to a Marvel film: Ford told WSJ Magazine that he accepted the Marvel role with “no script” presented to him, adding: “Why not? I saw enough Marvels to see actors that I admired having a good time. I didn’t really know that at the end I would turn into the Red Hulk. Well, it’s like life. You only get so far in the kit until the last page of the instructions is missing.”

A Marvel movie is just another day at the office: “I tried to understand the ambition of the filmmakers, and to be useful to them. I just didn’t sit home at night and say, ‘Oh, what do I want to do when I turn into the Hulk?’ It didn’t seem to me to be a terribly difficult acting proposition.”

He’s feeling nostalgic for a time when movies made a far bigger impact. “What I miss, really, truthfully, is the connection [cinema had] to the culture overall. Now we’re in people’s houses more than we’re in the commons. We work for niche audiences. Which doesn’t lessen the work. But we’re living in a different world, without the comfort of knowing that we’re all in this together. ” When asked what a Marvel movie is then, Ford answered: “It’s a big niche.”

[From Variety]

While Ford misses being in huge cultural-moment films and misses when films had a huge impact, I actually think he’s weathered the industry changes really well. In some ways, he has much more freedom now than he did during his movie-star heyday. He can do an AppleTV show or join the MCU or do a TV show with Helen Mirren. He’s talked before about how he just likes to work, and that’s what it feels like too – he’s not taking this sh-t seriously, he just likes having something to do. As for what he says about the last Indiana Jones movie… I ended up watching it and I hated it, and yet I sort of loved that Harrison was hellbent on making it. He loves the character, and that script was f–king bonkers. Still, it was such a depressing way for Indy to go out.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.