Captain Marvel 2 Theory: Who Zawe Ashton Villain Character Is

Zawe Ashton is set to play the villain Captain Marvel 2, and here are some possibilities for which Marvel character she could be. When Captain Marvel made over $1 billion in 2019, it was clear that Marvel Studios had a new franchise on its hands. Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) joined the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe just a few months later with an appearance in Avengers: Endgame. It was only a few months after that when Marvel confirmed Captain Marvel 2 was in the works.

Marvel Studios hired Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta to direct Captain Marvel 2 in 2020 and initially gave the film a summer 2022 release date. Near the end of the year, Marvel president Kevin Feige provided some more updates on the sequel’s status. Brie Larson is returning to star as Captain Marvel, and she’ll be joined by an adult Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) – both of whom are being introduced on Disney+ first. Their inclusions confirm Captain Marvel 2 is set in the present day of the MCU. Plot details are so far unknown, but there is an expectation that it will be tied to the Secret Invasion Disney+ series in development.

The latest update on Captain Marvel 2 sees Zawe Ashton join the talented cast. Ashton is best known for roles in Velvet Buzzsaw and the UK comedy TV show Fresh Meat. The reports of her joining Captain Marvel 2 confirmed that she is playing the main villain who will go up against Larson’s Carol Danvers. However, the identity of her character has yet to be revealed. As with every other MCU project, the answer to who the villain character is should have ties to Marvel’s decade’s long history of comics. So who could Ashton be playing in Captain Marvel 2?

Moonstone

When Marvel fans think about Captain Marvel villains that could be featured in Captain Marvel 2, Moonstone is likely the first one to come to mind. Karla Sofen is one of Carol Danvers’ arch-rivals in the comics. She had a career as a brilliant psychiatrist before teaming up with the villainous Doctor Faustus. Karla used manipulation to take the Moonstone, a powerful Kree gravity stone, from Lloyd Boch, the original Moonstone. Karla became a super-criminal and found her way to joining Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil, the Thunderbolts, and even Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers as the “evil Ms. Marvel.” This led to Moonstone becoming a recurring threat for Carol Danvers to take on, with their power levels resulting in epic and deadly brawls between them.

The use of Moonstone in Captain Marvel 2 would give Carol a villain who can match her incredible power set and a psychological component to her. This would give the sequel a chance to include plenty of huge fights between Moonstone and Captain Marvel, but Karla could also get inside Carol’s head like others can’t. The Moonstone’s connection to the Kree would also fit nicely with Captain Marvel’s MCU story. Since we’ve yet to see if she went back to Hala to put an end to the Kree/Skrull war, Moonstone could even be another creation of the Krees to combat Carol Danvers specifically.

Queen Veranke

Another Marvel villain who could fit in well with Captain Marvel 2 and the MCU’s future is the Skrull queen Veranke. She became the ruler of the Skrull empire after Galactus destroyed the aliens’ home planet. The character is best known for her role in the massively important crossover event Secret Invasion. Queen Veranke was the mastermind behind the operation to infiltrate the highest ranks of Earth’s defenses to take over the planet. Veranke did her part by using her shape-shifting abilities to pose as Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman and manipulated the Avengers on multiple occasions. She was killed at the end of Secret Invasion by Norman Osborn.

Veranke is an ideal choice for Captain Marvel 2‘s villain if the movie ties into the Secret Invasion TV show in any way. Her casting’s timing comes before Secret Invasion starts production too, so Marvel might have secretly cast Veranke ahead of the Disney+ series. Depending on Veranke factors into Captain Marvel 2 and/or Secret Invasion, this could give Ashton a chance to play multiple roles in the MCU. If Veranke appears in either upcoming property, it would be expected that she’ll pose as someone else and not just be in her Skrull look the entire time. With Ashton’s range as an actress, that could be one of many reasons that attracted her to joining Captain Marvel 2.

Deathbird

Instead of going back to the Skrull storyline again, Captain Marvel 2 could introduce another prominent alien race from the comics by making Deathbird its villain. Originally known as Cal’syee Neramani, she was born into a royal family of the Shi’ar Empire and the heir to the throne. Her unique atavistic features gave her uncontrollable rage, and she was exiled from the Shi’ar Empire after killing her mother and sister. This brought her to Earth, and her first encounter was with Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel 2 could tell a similar story by having Deathbird arrive on Earth and leaving Carol, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan to take her on. Not only could she be a natural choice to fight Captain Marvel in the sequel, but the introduction of the Shi’ar sets up several other characters for the MCU to play with.

Rogue

One choice for Captain Marvel 2‘s villain that would be surprising to regular audiences is utilizing the X-Men member Rogue as the antagonist. This has become a popular suggestion by fans for Carol Danvers’ next MCU story. While it is true that Rogue is usually a hero in the comics, she started off fighting Captain Marvel and the Avengers. Rogue’s mutant powers allowed her to absorb Carol’s powers and memories at one point. This caused Carol to forget who she was, which could be a strike against Rogue being used for Captain Marvel 2 since that storyline is similar to what the MCU used for Carol’s origin story. Still, Ashton would make for an intriguing choice to play Rogue, help usher mutants into the MCU, and give her a role that could keep her around well past Captain Marvel 2.

Abigail Brand

Another villain option for Captain Marvel 2 could be Abigail Brand, the mutant director of SWORD from the comics. Even though Brand and SWORD have routinely been an ally to heroes like Captain Marvel, WandaVision is proving that might not be the case. Now that the organization is creating sentient weapons, SWORD could be at odds with Carol Danvers and company in the sequel. We’ve already seen Monica Rambeau butt heads with acting director Tyler Hayward, and we could learn that Brand is the one who has been calling the shots all along. Ashton could help make Abigail Brand a temporary opponent for Captain Marvel but allow room for her and SWORD to make a swing back to the side of heroes later on.

Korvac

As far as unconventional suggestions go, could Ashton play a gender-swapped version of the powerful Marvel villain Korvac in Captain Marvel 2? The character was at the center of a major comic event in the 1970s now known as the Korvac Saga. It included Korvac traveling from the distant future to the present day to remake the universe as he sees fit. While the Avengers and Carol Danvers defeated Korvac at that time, he returned many years later for a Guardians of the Galaxy-centric story called “Time Runs Out.” This saw Korvac be the source of a temporal imbalance, which he wanted to use to reshape the multiverse. With MCU Phase 4 confirmed to play with the multiverse concept in several ways, Carol’s sequel could do the same with Korvac. In reality, either of these storylines could allow Korvac to raise the bar on Captain Marvel 2 becoming as big of an event film as other upcoming “solo” movies.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
(5616 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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