Captain Marvel and The Marvels star Brie Larson has stoked internet theories after posting a photo alongside co-star Zawe Ashton.
The two actresses posed in Christmas jumpers on Larson’s Instagram, with Larson’s jumper reading “Villain Lovers Club”, and Ashton in a Joy Division merchandise jumper.
Larson’s cheeky caption of “Marvel fans, start your theories” is definitely there to get a reaction, especially with very little known about the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel. Zawe Ashton joined the cast in an unnamed villainous role and the only three confirmed and named cast members for the sequel are Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau / Photon.
The lack of concrete information on the film does leave it ripe for speculation. So far it’s known it will directly lead on from the upcoming 2022 Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel which will establish Kamala Khan, and also follow on from Rambeau introduction in WandaVision.
As for Zawe Ashton’s role, here is some healthy speculation on who the British actress could be playing and if her Christmas jumper does tease something about the sequel. Here’s a few educated guesses.
Komakino
A Joy Division song released in the compilation album Substance, Komakino translates to “cinema coma” from German. To make a bit of a long bow, perhaps this relates to her character’s origin and her introduction involves awaking from a coma.
The Eternal
Released in 1980 from the album Closer, The Eternal is heavily speculated to be about a funeral for a loved one. Monica Rambeau is said to have lost her mother sometime before WandaVision and during the show it is implied Carol Danvers was not there for the funeral or doesn’t know. This could be cause of friction between Rambeau and Danvers, and could hint at even a red herring that Rambeau is the villain of the piece – not Ashton’s character.
The other obvious point is the “Eternal” section of the song’s title. Marvel’s Eternals was finally released in November 2021 and introduced at least 11 named Eternals, but there’s plenty more where that came from in the Marvel canon. The two best guesses of comic Eternals she could be are Sui-San or Hyperion.
Sui-San is an Eternal who (in comics) gave birth to Thanos. Her arc is either that of a mother who cares deeply for him or realizes he is unbelievably evil from birth and abandons him or attempts infanticide. With Starfox (brother of Thanos) appearing in the post-credits scene for Eternals, it would make sense to introduce her. The song The Eternal also features these lyrics:
Cry like a child, though these years make me older
Joy Division – The Eternal
With children my time is so wastefully spent
A burden to keep, though their inner communion
Accept like a curse an unlucky deal
Hyperion is more of a stretch, as it would also involve gender-swapping the character from the usual male appearance Hyperion has had in comics. He’s a fairly run of the mill crazy guy with astonishing powers, and often seen in comics as a foe of Captain Marvel.
The greatest guess I’d have is Zawe Ashton is playing Sui-San and the film will involve Sui-san seeking revenge on Carol Danvers for helping to defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Perhaps she will have awoken from a coma, similar to how in the Eternals film, they get reset with no memories.
The Marvels is tentatively due for a February 2023 release in cinemas, and will be directed by Nia DaCosta
