Nobody does bad guys like Ben Mendelsohn. The Rogue One and Place Beyond the Pines star has made a career playing villains, criminals, and all shades of shady characters, and he's poised to put his sinister charisma to use once again in the MCU. Variety reports that Marvel Studios is eyeing Mendelsohn to go toe-to-toe with Brie Larson as the central antagonist in Captain Marvel.
Details on the role are still being kept under wraps, but MCU boss Kevin Feige told the Comic-Con crowd that the Skrulls would serve as the central antagonists in the 1990s-set film. Samuel L. Jackson is also expected to return as Nick Fury, but otherwise, the film is still shrouded in mystery. Captain Marvel is slated to arrive in theaters on March 8, 2019.
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were recruited by Marvel to direct the studio's first female-led film after an exhaustive director search. The directorial duo previously worked with Mendelsohn on Missippi Grind. The actor previously dipped his toe in the realm of comic book movies with a small role in The Dark Knight Rises. He's currently earning glowing reviews for his performance in Una, and will next be seen alongside Gary Oldman in the Winston Churchill drama Darkest Hour, playing the central antagonist in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, and as of the most famous villainous roles of all time as Sherriff Nottingham in Robin Hood: Origins. So yeah, he's one of the best possible actors you can get to play your big bad, but considering Marvel's track record with villains and the way his seemingly epic Rogue One baddie was scripted as little more than swagger and a cape, I'll keep my hype levels low for the time being.
For more of the latest on Captain Marvel, check out our recent coverage in the links below.
- ‘Captain Marvel’ Gets New Screenwriter in ‘Gotham City Sirens’ Scribe Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Who Are the Skrulls?: The ‘Captain Marvel’ Villains Explained
- Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury to Return in ‘Captain Marvel’
- ‘Captain Marvel’ Scheduled to Begin Filming in February 2018
- Upcoming Superhero Movie Release Dates: From 2017 to 2021