Ben Mendelsohn reveals that in an early version of the Captain Marvel script, his character, Talos the Skrull, was originally going to die.
Talos was supposed to die in the original Captain Marvel script. Played by Ben Mendelsohn, the Skrull character was positioned to be the film's primary villain. That's until it was revealed that he and his people are the good guys, while the Kree, which Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) thought were her allies were the real enemies.
By the end of the Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's 2019 film, Captain Marvel joined Talos and the Skrulls on their mission to find a safe home planet. Since the film is set in 1995 — effectively predating the events of Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau's Iron Man
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, many didn't expect Talos to re-emerge in the MCU quickly. It was revealed in the
Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene that he shapeshifted as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and was the one keeping an eye on Peter Parker (Tom Holland) while the real Fury was busy managing SWORD. But as it turns out, Talos wasn't even supposed to survive
Captain Marvel as revealed by Mendelsohn himself.
Speaking with NME, the actor reveals that Marvel Studios planned to kill his character in the middle of Captain Marvel. He didn't get into specifics about how Talos was going to be killed but said that knowing that makes him more motivated to do a good job in the role moving forward. Read Mendelsohn's full quote below:
“That truly exceeded my expectations. [Talos] was gonna die at around page 60 [in the script] originally and he survived that, so he’s done pretty well. And if that f***ing shapeshifter rears his ugly head again, I’ll do my best to be inside it.”
It's curious what changed Marvel Studios' mind with regard to Talos' final fate in Captain Marvel, but it's ultimately a clever move on their part to keep the character alive. Aside from Mendelsohn being a fantastic actor, the Skrulls are also set to play a big role in the franchise's Phase 4 and even beyond with the establishment of SWORD. While they can introduce other key Skrull players down the line as they further incorporate the shapeshifting aliens in the universe, having Talos, who has a history with Fury and Danvers, is a great way to keep Captain Marvel tightly integrated in future Marvel storytelling.
So far, it's uncertain when Talos will re-appear in the MCU but there are a couple of possibilities considering the franchise's confirmed slate. The first obvious choice is in Captain Marvel 2 which is set to release in 2022 given his relationship to Danvers. The sequel could reveal what happened to them after they left Earth in Captain Marvel. The second one could be via WandaVision since the upcoming Disney+ series will feature SWORD. Regardless of when Talos makes him MCU return, fans can expect nothing but superb acting from Mendelsohn as he promised in his latest interview.