'Captain Marvel' May Introduce Rick Jones to the MCU

Captain Marvel is one of the most highly-anticipated films in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe slate, not just because it introduces a fan-favorite character (who happens to be Marvel Studios' first movie heroine), but because it will open up entire new doors of the MCU.

Today brings even more evidence that Captain Marvel will be an MCU game-changer, as The Hashtag Show reports that the movie could introduce the pivotal character of Rick Jones!

Accoding to THS, this casting call may be a disguised search for an actor to play the MCU version of Rick Jones:

[UNKNOWN MALE] Supporting Lead Male (35-59) Intelligent, but can throw a punch. Open ethnicity. Sounds like he may be tied to a well-known character.

The "ties to a well-known character" part is particularly telling, as Rick Jones is probably the best-known sidekick in the Marvel Universe. His clasic origin is actually tied to The Hulk, as Jones was the young boy who drove onto the range where Bruce Banner was testing his gamma bomb. When Banner ran out to save Jones, the bomb explosion triggered his transformation into The Hulk. Of course, Rick Jones also served as a sidekick to Captain America, inheriting the mantle of Bucky for a time, and was also the longtime host for Kree superhero Mar-Vell, who shared a body with Rick thanks to the power of the cosmic Nega-Bands.

With Jude Law now playing Mar-Vell in Captain Marvel, a tie-in story with Rick Jones only makes sense. Jones is also a major factor in ending the Kree/Skrull War in the classic Marvel Comics storyline (which is the basis for this Captain Marvel film); it's easy to see how he could therefore be a pivotal player in the Captain Marvel movie.

If anything, it sounds like Captain Marvel will possibly streamline years of Marvel Cosmic history, into a story that takes the Mar-Vell, Rick Jones, and Carol Danvers shared history, and makes it an action-drama set against the backdrop of intergalactic war (The Kree/Skrull War). It would be an easy one-and-done for Jude Law, while Brie Larson's Captain Marvel and Rick Jones are sent forward toward their larger roles in the MCU.

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018. Thor: Ragnarok is now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include; Black Panther on February 16, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.