Director Explains Red Hulk Captain America Reveal in Trailer

According to the film's director, Marvel had little choice but to reveal Red Hulk in the trailers for "Captain America: Brave New World," despite many fans feeling the villain should have remained a secret.

Red Hulk, the furious alter ego of Harrison Ford's President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, only emerges late in the film's climax. His appearance follows a prolonged buildup and moments where it seems Ross might manage to control his gamma-powered rage.

Amid broader criticism labeling "Brave New World" as a bland MCU installment, fans have argued that featuring Red Hulk in the trailers not only spoiled the surprise but also overstated the character's actual screen time.

However, director Julius Onah has explained that Marvel felt compelled to show Red Hulk pre-release, believing the reveal would have leaked regardless.

"When you announce Harrison Ford is playing Thaddeus Ross for a movie like this, and you have a fandom as massive and passionate as the MCU's, the secret is pretty much out," Onah told Empire magazine.

"Ideally, it would have been fantastic as a surprise in the theater, but that would have been extremely difficult to pull off," he continued. "A toy would have been discovered, or a trailer would have leaked. It's incredibly hard to keep anything under wraps these days."

While Marvel productions certainly face constant leak risks, and merchandise has spoiled plots before, this rationale for showing Red Hulk contrasts with how other Marvel films have handled villain teases.

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Consider the upcoming "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." Trailers confirm the giant villain Galactus will appear, but Marvel has carefully limited the footage to brief teases, saving his full reveal for the movie.

Of course, Galactus’s full design did leak—via a Snapple promotion, no less—and another character absent from trailers has appeared as a Funko Pop. Yet these spoilers reach only a small portion of the audience. For most fans, the official trailers are what set expectations.

Many Marvel fans believe too much of Red Hulk was shown, likely to generate excitement for a film that otherwise seemed lackluster.

Captain America's next appearance will be in "Avengers: Doomsday," following "Thunderbolts*/New Avengers," which confirmed Sam Wilson has started assembling his own version of the premier superhero team.