Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie recently played it coy about the rumors of Harrison Ford's “Thunderbolt” Ross transforming into the Red Hulk in the upcoming MCU movie.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Mackie gave an interesting reason as to why fans saw a set photo of Ford with ripped pants (which indicated him becoming Red Hulk to some). “See, Harrison and I go way back. A lot of people don't know this. This is our second time working together. He came down to Atlanta, they lost his luggage, so I gave him a pair of pants, but those are my work pants from working in the yard,” Mackie claimed.

He continued, “Harrison, he's a curmudgeon, so he goes, ‘Anthony, just give me the d**ned pants.' And I was like, ‘Alright.' So that's all that was. He just needed some pants.”

MCU and comic book fans are smart enough to recognize a cover-up job when it smells like one — and it's likely that Mackie is just playing damage control and attempting to harmlessly put out any fires started by the rumors of Ford becoming Red Hulk in the fourth Captain America film.

These rumors started when the official Captain America accounts tweeted a picture to reveal the film's new name change to Brave New World. The picture showed Ford and Mackie together, but the former had some ripped pants on. ComicBook.com also asked Ford about this when he was promoting Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but he claimed to have no idea who the Red Hulk is.

Anthony Mackie is set to lead Captain America: Brave New World — his first outing as the titular hero. Harrison Ford will star in the film as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (taking over for the late William Hurt). Where there is smoke, there's usually fire. Despite Mackie and Ford's best attempts at throwing fans off their scent, it does seem like we're going to get Red Hulk in Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released on July 26, 2024.