Lashana Lynch first played Maria Rambeau in 2019's Captain Marvel, though WandaVision would later reveal that the eventual S.W.O.R.D. Director died during the five-year period half of the universe no longer existed. Of course, we've since picked up with her now adult daughter, Monica, a character set to take centre stage in The Marvels next year.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Lynch was given the unexpected opportunity to return as a Variant of Maria who had become Captain Marvel on Earth-838.
A member of The Illuminati, she squared off with the Scarlet Witch and was ultimately bested by the unhinged Wanda Maximoff. Emphasising how powerful that former Avenger had become, poor Maria ended up being crushed by a huge statue after taking a beating from the reality-hopping villain.
"It was a wild one," Lynch told Empire Online about her MCU return in the Doctor Strange sequel. "Kevin Feige had messaged me, letting me know about Maria’s demise. [Characters] spoke of it in WandaVision, which I’m glad that they did because at least that’s good context."
"One of the producers of Captain Marvel called me and said they had this idea to bring all these new versions of characters back together and they wanted to bring Maria back," the actress continued. "I was like, ‘Great, okay, she’s gonna be an ancestor.’ ‘No, she’s gonna be Captain Marvel.’ It blew my mind."
"Hayley [Atwell], Benedict [Cumberbatch], Chiwetel [Ejiofor], a group of us were on Zoom just staring at each other going, 'What is happening?!'" Lynch recalls. "I embraced Maria as a ‘super-mum’, having a chance to flex in this very new but already existent way. It felt like it was meant to be for her."
It was a memorable cameo, that's for sure, and one that showed a whole new side to Maria. There are rumblings Lynch might reprise the role again in The Marvels for flashbacks explaining why Monica resents Carol Danvers so much, but even if that doesn't pan out, the chance to play Captain Marvel was clearly one the actress took great joy in.
What did you think about this Maria Rambeau Variant and her eventual demise?