'Captain Marvel' Theory Explains How Mar-Vell Could Appear in the Movie

The new Captain Marvel trailer has given us plenty of new details about how this Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Carol Danvers becomes the intergalactic hero known as Captain Marvel. Trailer #2 is especially good at teasing the signature traumatic event that turns a normal person into a Marvel superhero - but in providing a few answers, Captain Marvel has also raised some interesting new questions - and exciting possibilities.

Based on what we now know after two trailers, here's how the iconic Marvel Comics figure Mar-Vell could actually figure into the plot of Captain Marvel!

In the latest trailer, we see Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in an aerial chase or dogfight (1:30) after an alien cruiser - a chase that ends with her having crash-landing in a woodland terrain on Earth. During that crash we see Carol's plane get disintegrated by a spear of blue energy - energy which envelopes Carol in full. The Kree happen upon Carol when she's laying in the dirt, still crackling with traces of the blue energy, and her nose bleeding green blood - like a Kree. We see that Skrulls were present in the crash, and Jude Law's character is seen also walking through this forest terrain. It all points to the Carol getting caught up in the Kree/Skrull war, and her powers being a by product of that conflict. This sequence on Earth is presented as being part of Carol's origin - but it might be much more pivotal than that - and exactly where Mar-Vell could fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The key moment that the Captain Marvel trailers seem to dance around is what the source of the explosion that envelops Carol in that blue energy. In the new trailer, Annette Bening's character (The Supreme Intelligence?) tries to convince Carol that the Kree made her strong through some kind of transformation process, however this may not be the truth. Whatever explosion Carol was caught in seems to be the real thing that makes her uniquely powerful, even amongst The Kree; the real truth could be that the Kree recognized a powerful weapon, and used mind-wiping techniques to make it their weapon. That would make sense as to why Carol's return trip to Earth begins a possible major fracture between her and her Kree teammates.

That's where Mar-Vell comes in. The sequence of Carol's aerial dogfight/chase with an alien craft, the major origin moment that follows, is missing a lot of context. We see Skrull commander Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) is there, pointing a blaster at Carol just after the blue energy wave explosion, and that Jude Law's character (rumored to be Kree Commander Yon-Rogg) is there too. However, there could be another major figure present at the battle: Mar-Vell.

In Marvel Comics lore, Carol Danvers gets her powers when she gets into the company of Dr. Walter Lawson, who is actually Kree spy Mar-Vell in disguise. Carol is nearly killed when a Kree device called a "Psyche-Magnetron" explodes near her, but Mar-Vell intervenes and saves her. The explosion merges Carol and Mar-Vell into a human-Kree hybrid, making her "Ms. Marvel."

This origin story is arguably still at work in the Captain Marvel movie, as all the familiar beats are there. The only thing that we (conveniently) haven't seen is what leads Carol into this aerial chase, and if there is a mysterious benefactor who helps to save her life. It's a definitely possibility: In the comics Mar-Vell and Yon-Rogg were rivals, and it would make sense if Yon-Rogg then tried to bend the power Mar-Vell to his own will, be brainwashing Carol and taking her as his pupil. Mar-Vell hiding out on Earth would also provide context for why the Kree and Skrulls come there in the first place.

So why all the secrecy and denials of Mar-Vell being part of Captain Marvel? Well, it was originally thought that Jude Law could be Mar-Vell, but that got ruled out because of the seeming Yon-Rogg confirmation - and the fact that it was more likely the strategy to sell Brie Larson as the one "Captain Marvel" mainstream audiences got to know. However, there's still plenty of room for Mar-Vell to have a pivotal cameo in the film that doesn't really overshadow Carol Danvers' story - and for Marvel Studios to use that opportunity to pull off yet another big piece of top-secret celebrity cameo casting (see: Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War).

Do you think Mar-Vell will make an appearance in Captain Marvel? Let us now your best theory in the comments!

Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp are now available as a digital download as well as on Blu-ray and DVD. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.