As you're no doubt well aware, the Skrulls are able to shape-shift to look however they please and that means Ben Mendelsohn has a couple of different roles in Captain Marvel. The first is Talos, the villainous Skrull leader who has been at war with the Kree for decades and now hopes to invade Earth. The second is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who Entertainment Weekly has confirmed is Nick Fury's boss!
During a recent Q&A, the actor addressed a number of topics and confirmed that while his S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has an American accent, he'll be using his native Australian accent to play Talos! Below, you'll find the most revealing highlights but be sure to head on over to the site to read the whole thing.
On How He Approached These Dual Roles:
"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."
On Talos' M.O. And His Relationship With The Kree:
"Look…. [long sigh] We gotta deal with the Kree. 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."
On The Relationship (Or Lack Thereof) Between The Skrulls And Captain Marvel:
"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. I like Skrulls a lot more now that they’ve asked me kindly to come and represent. But I was always aware of what punks the Kree were. I mean, why would you try and start a war with the Skrulls? What sort of an idiot is gonna try to start a war with us? Ugh, please. Go get some help from Captain Marvel."
Are you excited to see Talos in action? The whole accent thing sounds very... unique, and it's going to be interesting seeing how effectively the alien's shape-shifting abilities are used. After all, it will be a little lame if they basically just transform into humanoid looking versions of themsevles, right?