Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel film is starting to come into focus, and Brie Larson‘s solo adventure as Carol Danvers may have just found its main villain. Rogue One star and perennial antagonist Ben Mendelsohn is in negotiations to join Captain Marvel as the lead villain!
Variety broke the story, and noted that Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck had Mendelsohn in mind for the role when they plotted the film. So far, there’s no word on which character that Mendelsohn will play, but Variety speculates that he will portray the leader of the alien shapeshifters known as the Skrulls. That could be true, but we think that there’s a much more fitting villain for Mendelsohn to portray: Yon-Rogg a.k.a. Magnetron.
Yon-Rogg was a Kree military commander who was stationed on Earth during the earliest adventures of Mar-Vell, a Kree spy who became the first superhero known as Captain Marvel. Yon-Rogg was an enemy to both Mar-Vell and Carol Danvers, and he was inadvertently responsible for the accident that gave Carol her superpowers and transformed her into a human/Kree hybrid. That makes him a key figure in her origin story.
Much like Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic in Rogue One, Yon-Rogg is driven by petty jealousy and a desire for power and recognition. Years after Carol assumed the Captain Marvel identity as a tribute to Mar-Vell, Yon-Rogg resurfaced as Magnetron. He even shared a telepathic link with Carol as he tried to destroy her and her world.
Of course, there’s always the chance that Marvel could throw everyone a curveball by casting Mendelsohn in another role entirely. If he’s not the leader of the Skrulls, then perhaps he could lend his voice and his motion capture performance to the Supreme Intelligence, the artificial intelligence that rules the Kree. Zarek, the Kree Imperial Minister, could also have potential as the lead villain. But we still believe that Yon-Rogg is the most obvious choice for Mendelsohn.
Who do you think that Mendelsohn should play in Captain Marvel? Share your theories below!
Images: Lucasfilm/Marvel Comics
