As revealed in the first-look images for Captain Marvel, Ben Mendelsohn is set to take on the role of Talos, the leader of the villainous Skrull race, in next year’s superhero blockbuster.
In addition to his classic Skrull appearance seen above (complete with Australian accent), Talos will be posing as a human – or more specifically, Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) boss at S.H.I.E.L.D. – as he leads preparations for a Skrull invasion of Earth.
Speaking to EW, Mendelsohn has been chatting about how he approached this dual role, as well as touching upon the Skrulls’ relationship with the Kree, and with Captain Marvel herself.
“I mean, when you’re Skrullin’, it’s a bit of a different thing. It’s a got a certain flow to it that this guy [gestures to human costume] doesn’t have. Because this guy doesn’t sound like this. This guy is [adopts American accent] a lot more like, straight up, ready to do the work, very military industrial complex certain 1990-whatever. A lot more buttoned up. Skrullin’ is a bit more laid back, a bit tougher. A little bit nastier? Maybe? Maybe. You got sharper nails, stuff like that. The thing is, when you’re Skrullin’, there’s a kind of take-no-prisoners vibe about it, which is more relaxed. This guy’s got to follow protocol because it’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Skrullin’, you’re punching through shields. You’re taking shields off people and using them on people. So it’s kind of more fun to play.”
“We gotta deal with the Kree,” he continued. “The Kree are punks. And the Skrulls, I mean, we’re just misunderstood. At the end of the day, the Skrull is really misunderstood. Look, I don’t want to curse in print or anywhere else, but if I could, I would about the Kree. Yeah. I would. You’ve gotta be a bit more careful of Carol than the Kree. But I think as far as we’re concerned in the Skrull world, she’s kind of like a major obstacle. I still think we can take her. If we had to — if we had to, had to, had to — we could take Carol.”
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Captain Marvel follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Captain Marvel is being directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Mississippi Grind) and sees Brie Larson (Kong: Skull Island) leading the cast as Carol Danvers alongside Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy), Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), Lashana Lynch (Fast Girls), Gemma Chan (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Algenis Perez Soto (Sambá), Rune Temte (Eddie The Eagle), McKenna Grace (I, Tonya), Annette Bening (American Beauty), McKenna Grace (Gifted), Ana Ayora (The Big Wedding), Vik Sahay (Chuck), Kenneth Mitchell (Star Trek: Discovery), Chuku Modo (The Good Doctor), Clark Gregg (The Avengers) and Jude Law (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald).
