Fans of Stranger Things are no stranger to the idea that David Harbour‘s Hopper had a monumental body weight makeover courtesy of the Soviet military in Season four of the hit Netflix series. But it looks like MCU fans are taking notice as well, and they have an idea for another 1980s-themed project for Harbour to appear in.
Posting in Reddit’s r/marvelstudios forum, user Rickirontran posted a picture of Harbour’s newly transformed physique along with a photo of the Stranger Things actor in his Red Guardian costume from last year’s Black Widow. He also noted that with his new build (and lack of his gulag beard) he could easily pull off a younger version of the Guardian. According to his caption:
“After seeing David Harbour’s amazing body transformation for ST, I’m itching to see a badass MCU Red Guardian return. Heck he could even pull off playing a younger version in his prime. It’d be cool to see him as a more formidable fighter”
Harbour’s character was still powerful enough to win arm-wrestling bouts with his fellow inmates in Black Widow, but the character had also developed a pretty impressive “dad bod,” straining to fit into his old super suit. Harbour gained weight specifically for the role, weighing in at 280 pounds when he began filming. He lost weight over the course of filming in order to appear younger when shooting the film’s flashback scenes.
Many fans seemed interested in seeing Red Guardian in a new project. Either one of the upcoming announced projects, or a Disney Plus prequel series of his own.
Harbour hasn’t announced that he’ll be returning to the MCU anytime soon, but fans of his bulkier form won’t have long to wait to see it again. He’ll be appearing as Santa Claus in the upcoming action comedy Violent Night and even though he’ll be fending off mercenaries he’ll presumably sport the requisite Santa belly.
Violent Night will be in theaters in time for Christmas on Dec. 2.