Liv Tyler becomes the latest Hulk-centric character to appear in the new Captain America movie

It’s just like it’s 2008 all over again. After a 15 year break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Liv Tyler has joined the cast of Captain America: New World Order, in which she’ll reprise the role of Betty Ross for the first time since the character’s debut in The Incredible Hulk.

For those paying attention at home, this marks the second actor/character to return in next year’s fourth Captain America movie — the first to feature Anthony Mackie in the title role as the new Cap — following the news last September that Tim Blake Nelson would once again be playing the role of Samuel Sterns in the movie. The re-appearance of both characters, both showing up for the first time since 2008’s Incredible Hulk, creates a new link between that movie and the wider MCU in the wake of the death of William Hurt, whose Thunderbolt Ross had previously been the only actor/character combo to emerge from the movie.

The Hulk, of course, joined the Avengers and has appeared throughout the MCU afterwards — but with Mark Ruffalo playing the dual Bruce Banner/Hulk role, as opposed to Edward Norton, who played the character(s) in the 2008 movie.

Thunderbolt Ross will play a central role in New World Order, with Harrison Ford taking over the role, which begs the question: if the movie features three characters from The Incredible Hulk — two of which haven’t been since since that movie, more than a decade ago — just how gamma-centric is the movie actually going to be? The plot of the movie remains under wraps, but it can’t just be coincidence that three Hulk-centric characters are showing up in the same movie after all this time…

We should, perhaps, remember a rumor that’s been floating around since Harrison Ford signed on to play Thunderbolt Ross back in October: that New World Order will transform Ross into the Red Hulk that he became in Marvel comics canon. If this is the case, then how long should we wait before we get news of a Mark Ruffalo or Tatiana Maslany cameo in the movie as well…?

Captain America: New World Order is scheduled for a May 2024 release. (Keep up to date with upcoming superhero movie releases here.) Tyler’s return to the MCU was reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Captain America: New World Order was officially unveiled at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con Marvel Studios panel at Hall H.