Recently, we got our latest look at the world of Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel, and in that short but sweet look, we saw a lot of new footage. We've gotten our best look at Annette Bening's still mysterious character, a little more of Jude Law's Kree mentor to Brie Larson's Carol Danvers, and even Ben Mendelsohn's Talos in both his human and Skrull form. Though that last reveal looks to have confirmed one of the biggest plot points that Captain Marvel has to offer: the Skrulls appear to have totally infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. by time the film has gotten into high gear.
The shots that really tip us off are at 01:44 and 01:46 in the Captain Marvel trailer, so feel free to re-watch the trailer below before we get started:
As you see, and hear, above, we get quite a bit of Talos action in this latest sneak peek. Not only does he get to utter the line, "Would you like to know what you really are?" but he also gets to show off both his Skrull and humanoid forms from Captain Marvel. At 01:44, you can see Talos in his natural Skrull form, and at 01:46, we see him disguised as a well-dressed human of some sort of authority.
That authority, judging by the context clues in the trailer, as well as what we've heard so far, begins to paint a big picture that could tie through not only the first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also straight into the future of the franchise. Looking at where and how Talos is standing in his human form, it definitely looks like he's in charge of the agents that are storming the hanger in Captain Marvel. So not only does it look like S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised, it looks like the threat comes from the tippy top of the command structure yet again.
Or rather, to begin with, considering Captain Marvel is one big flashback flick that takes place in the 1990s, complete with younger versions of Nick Fury and Phil Coulson. Which leads to another point that this potential Skrull reveal could be making: Talos is probably the key to Nick Fury rising in the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D's power structure. While he's a desk jockey during the '90s, and he's ready to leave S.H.I.E.L.D at this point, Fury will probably be the one to find out that Talos is not the human he's masquerading as.
Should this be the case, that lays out how Nick Fury not only builds his rather distrustful school of thought in life, it also might indicate how Captain Marvel sets him up to gain a big promotion / lose an eye. If Fury knows Talos isn't on the up and up, you've got to assume their conflict will be the big B-story fight, while Carol Danvers fights the larger menace of the film -- more than likely being Jude Law's fanatical Kree, who may or may not be Yon-Rogg.
But let's step back from Nick Fury's potential origins for a moment, and talk about something that Talos's presence might be indicating. Say that he has, in fact, infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ranks, while in disguise. Not only does this mean that the super secret spy agency has even more of a history of being the least secure organization all sides of the Potomac, it also means the universe might have been softened up for a Skrull invasion for quite some time.
Think about the long-term implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe if the Skrulls have been slowly making their way to Earth, and other points in the universe. Not only would this bring the Secret Invasion plot line into the MCU fold, that in turn would put Secret War on the table, as well.
With Secret Invasion putting Skrulls on Earth, replacing super heroes and triggering the formation of the super group known as "the Illuminati," the next big conflict in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might deal with both Skrull plotlines pulled from the page of Marvel Comics' two influential event series. Which is exactly what is needed in the MCU, as the Thanos threat likely will draw to a close in Avengers 4.
There's a lot of potential threads that a Skrull infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D can entail. There might even be a possibility that Captain Marvel spawns some more flashback sequels, leaving Ben Mendelsohn's Talos in control of S.H.I.E.L.D. for quite a while in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Should that be the case, we might not see him and Nick Fury fight just yet, but it's a fight that feels like it's bound to happen at some point or another.
For now though, the usage of the Skrulls looks instrumental to the plot of Captain Marvel, and the degree of their importance seems to be tipped off in this latest look at the film's story. Seeing as there will probably be at least one more trailer before the film's March debut, we'll probably learn more about the Skrulls in that go-round than we could imagine. But if this theory holds up, there could be a lot of excitement that's left to discover once the threat of Captain Marvel is vanquished; and it would all begin with Talos.
Captain Marvel takes off on March 8th, 2019, in conventional, 3D, and IMAX formats.
