At last, Ben Mendelsohn‘s role in ‘Captain Marvel’ has been revealed and it isn’t that of Kree mastermind Yon-Rogg as was heavily rumored up until now. True, Yon-Rogg was essentially the arch-nemesis of Marvel’s first Captain Marvel, Kree expat Mar-Vell, and he did play a role in current Captain Marvel’s, Carol Danvers‘, transformation into a superhero. But at this point, it’s unclear of that character will appear in the movie at all, as Mendelsohn is depicting Talos, a member of the Skrull alien race, who have been at war with the Kree for ages.
In the comics, Talos is something of a laughing stock, having been born without the ability to shapeshift like other Skrulls. He trained himself to be a savage warrior to compensate, but after he was captured by Kree and failed to commit ritual suicide, he was ostracized. He later failed to trick The Hulk into killing him and was deemed unnecessary during the Skrulls’ ‘Secret Invasion’ of Earth. He was was most recently defeated by Howard the Duck, despite having successfully assembled the Abundance Gems to power the Abundance Glove, a cosmic artifact that has… some powers. Talos is the great-great-uncle of the Young Avengers’ Hulkling.
However, in ‘Captain Marvel’, Mendelsohn’s Talos will have the ability to change his shape and will use those powers to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.. We already know that Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg are appearing as de-aged versions of Nick Fury and Phil Coulson, so this could be where they enter the picture. In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, Fury told Cap that last time he trusted somebody, he lost an eye. We know that Fury will have two eyes in ‘Captain Marvel’… at least at the beginning. Expect this movie to reveal the secret origin of his famous eye patch.
Mendelsohn is making a career out of playing villains, having appeared as Orson Krennic in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, Nolan Sorrento in ‘Ready Player One’ and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the upcoming ‘Robin Hood’. This role, as Talos, sounds right up his alley.
‘Captain Marvel’, directed by Anan Boden and Ryan Fleck, stars Brie Larson, Ben Mendelsohn, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Djimon Hounsou, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law and Lee Pace, and arrives in theaters on March 8, 2019.
Source: Entertainment Weekly