When it comes to character actors, there are few working today who are as good as Ben Mendelsohn. In the indie world, Mendelsohn has had his fair share of success. He's terrific in a smaller role in Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, and even better as the tragically lovable Gerry in gambling comedy Mississippi Grind. But while Mendelsohn remains a favorite in cinephile circles, he has yet to become widely known by mainstream audiences. Maybe my distaste for Rogue One is blinding me here, but I'm fairly certain that nobody walked away from that movie awestruck by Mendelsohn's performance as Vader lackey Orson Krennic. He has a chance to sneak into the Oscar race by playing King George VI in the upcoming Darkest Hour, and he'll take a few more stabs at the blockbuster game with Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One and the upcoming Taron Egerton-led Robin Hood reboot. But for all the Mendelsohn fans out there, it looks there's another opportunity for the actor to break out in a big way- a major role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to Variety's Justin Kroll, Ben Mendelsohn is in talks to play the antagonist in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel, which will star Brie Larson as the titular character. Samuel L. Jackson will also be reprising his role as Nick Fury in the 1990s-set adventure. Mendelsohn is likely going to portray the leader of the Skrulls, the alien army well known to Marvel Comics fans across the globe. While it's always nice to see an esteemed actor join a major project, this casting move is really no surprise- after all, Mendelsohn worked with Boden and Fleck on the aforementioned Mississippi Grind. Marvel still has a villain problem, and even though films like Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and arguably Spider-Man: Homecoming have been able to overcome this issue, a talented actor isn't a guarantee of a great performance. Just ask Mads Mikkelsen or Corey Stoll. Mendelsohn was already pretty much wasted in Rogue One, so I'm going to remain slightly skeptical about his casting here, especially if this ends up being a motion-capture role. Despite those concerns, I have very high hopes for Marvel's first female solo outing- I think Boden and Fleck are going to knock it out of the park.
Captain Marvel will hit theaters on May 8, 2019.
Source: Variety
Images: Marvel/Lucasfilm/IMDb
According to Variety's Justin Kroll, Ben Mendelsohn is in talks to play the antagonist in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel, which will star Brie Larson as the titular character. Samuel L. Jackson will also be reprising his role as Nick Fury in the 1990s-set adventure. Mendelsohn is likely going to portray the leader of the Skrulls, the alien army well known to Marvel Comics fans across the globe. While it's always nice to see an esteemed actor join a major project, this casting move is really no surprise- after all, Mendelsohn worked with Boden and Fleck on the aforementioned Mississippi Grind. Marvel still has a villain problem, and even though films like Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and arguably Spider-Man: Homecoming have been able to overcome this issue, a talented actor isn't a guarantee of a great performance. Just ask Mads Mikkelsen or Corey Stoll. Mendelsohn was already pretty much wasted in Rogue One, so I'm going to remain slightly skeptical about his casting here, especially if this ends up being a motion-capture role. Despite those concerns, I have very high hopes for Marvel's first female solo outing- I think Boden and Fleck are going to knock it out of the park.
Captain Marvel will hit theaters on May 8, 2019.
Source: Variety
Images: Marvel/Lucasfilm/IMDb
Comments
Post a Comment