Black Panther made its highly-anticipated debut this weekend, weaving a surprising amount of lore into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But could that also lead to a crossover with one of the MCU’s next solo films, Captain Marvel?
Videos by ComicBook.com
Minor spoilers for Black Panther below!
Partway through the film, Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) is severely injured in an attack, causing T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and company to transport him to Wakanda, where they have the technology to save his life. Ross later wakes up in Wakanda, discovering that his injuries have been cured by Shuri (Letitia Wright).
As Ross is confused, he asks Shuri if she knows who he is, and she proceeds to read off details of his biography — including that he’s a former Air Force pilot.
Within the narrative of Black Panther, this line proves to be relevant, as it leads to Ross remotely piloting one of the Wakandan ships in the film’s third act. But there’s also a chance that we could see some version of Ross’ Air Force tenure onscreen, with a cameo from him in Captain Marvel.
At the moment, plenty of details are still unknown about the film, which will star Brie Larson as Air Force pilot-turned-superhero Carol Danvers. But one of the first noteworthy updates about Captain Marvel was the fact that it will be set in the 1990s, further fleshing out the pre-Iron Man history of the MCU. While that point in time allows for plenty of currently-dead characters to appear – namely fan-favorite Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) – it also would realistically cover the same time that Ross was in the Air Force.
With that in mind, it certainly feels like a logical step to have a younger Everett Ross appear in Captain Marvel in one way or another. Even if Ross’ appearance was just for a single scene, it would be a cameo that would make Marvel superfans happy, similarly to the way that older versions of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark briefly appeared in Ant-Man.
In a way, a larger cameo from him in Captain Marvel would work too, giving Carol another colleague (aside from Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury) whose present-day MCU fate fans wouldn’t have to worry about. Plus, having Freeman appear in some sort of supporting role would probably manifest in interesting ways, seeing as he and Larson are both award-winning actors.
And to an extent, Ross and Carol knowing each other could help Captain Marvel’s return to the present-day MCU proceedings, which is expected to happen sometime in or around Avengers 4. While most have assumed that Carol’s link to the current doings of the Avengers would be Nick Fury, there’s also a chance it could happen through Ross, who would presumably easily convince T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and the other heroes that Carol can be trusted.
While there’s no telling if Ross will appear in Captain Marvel, it certainly sounds like it could happen, especially with Freeman confirming that his character will appear in future MCU ventures. Fans will just have to stay tuned to find out.
Black Panther is now in theaters. It will be followed by Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, 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.
