Could Talos return for ‘The Marvels?’

The Marvels may be a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, but so is Secret Invasion, which means the characters and events from the Disney Plus series may very well appear in the Phase Five cinematic blockbuster. 

When Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan’s body-swapping fiasco ensues in The Marvels, Nick Fury will have returned to his spy duties, eye patch and all, after saving planet Earth from a secret Skrull invasion. However, according to new photos for The Marvels, the espionage spy thriller isn’t the last we’ve seen of the green-skinned shapeshifting aliens. 

Because Talos, the former General of the Skrull Council who saved his fellow Skrull refugees from the Kree Empire in Captain Marvel, has been the face of the green-skinned aliens since the very beginning — and has appeared in more than one Marvel cinematic movie — it only makes sense to assume wherever the Skrulls go, he follows. Regrettably, his storyline in Secret Invasion dampens the prospect of an appearance in The Marvels. If you haven’t seen the Disney Plus series yet, you might want to stop reading here. 

Will Talos be in The Marvels, or was Secret Invasion his last hoorah?

Warning: This section contains spoilers for Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion was without a doubt Marvel’s darkest show to date, killing off one major character after the last. While some of them didn’t stay dead for long, others — like Talos — sadly bit the bullet for good. 

In episode 4, “Beloved,” Gravik — the leader of a faction of Skrull extremists hellbent on annihilating Earth’s inhabitants to reclaim the planet as their own — drives a dagger into Talos’ heart and kills him. Unlike his daughter G’iah, Talos did not take the Super Skrull serum so he didn’t heal from the wound. In episode 5, “Harvest,” Talos was buried in a traditional Skrull funeral ceremony by G’iah and Priscilla/Varra. 

Of course, this means the likelihood of Talos returning for The Marvels is slim to none – but not impossible. He could technically return in a flashback cameo or an old clip used to reference a past event. It doesn’t seem likely given the nature of the film’s tone, but it’s not impossible, especially since Carol Danvers will engage with Skrulls who may or may not have heard of his passing. 

There’s also the possibility that Talos somehow survived, but that feels far less likely, and if Marvel chooses to go down that route it will have to come up with a pretty stellar explanation for whose body was actually cremated during Talos’ supposed funeral.

Our safest bet is to assume we’ve seen the last of Talos, but where there’s a will there’s a way. The Marvels premieres in theaters on November 10.