Draft:Talos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Talos is a fictional character portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

Mendelsohn was introduced as Talos in Captain Marvel (2019) and reprised his role through a post-credit scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). He appeared in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion (2023).

Meeting Captain Marvel
In 1995, Talos was among a group of Skrulls living on Torfa as refugees hiding from the Kree Empire. The group kidnapped the Kree, Soh-Larr while trying to find the coordinates to Mar-Vell's Laboratory. They lured the Kree Starforce to Torfa by posing as Soh-Larr and using a code that only Soh-Larr would know. The Skrull Soh-Larr then lured Vers to him. Talos walked up to them and they took Vers to their ship.

Working with Spider-Man
Talos poses as Nick Fury and recruits Peter Parker / Spider-Man to help Mysterio deal with the threat of the Elementals. After Parker learns of Mysterio's true intentions and defeats him and his drones, Talos tries to get in touch with Fury to tell him how things went with Parker and asks Fury when he'll return from space.

Background and development
Talos originally appeared in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank, Talos first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #418 (June 1994). It was revealed in the next issue that he was unable to shapeshift like the other Skrulls. He didn't appear again until the Annihilation event, but he mostly just appeared in the four issue tie-in Annihilation: Ronan (2006). During the event, Talos joined the United Front, which also featured characters such as Star-Lord, Nova and Gamora. Talos last appeared in 2015 in Howard the Duck where he infiltrated Earth with a human disguise under the name Jonathan Richards.

Casting and appearances
By October 2017 Ben Mendelsohn was in negotiations for a villain role in Captain Marvel (2019) after previously working with directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck on Mississippi Grind (2015). By January 2018 his casting was confirmed. Mendelsohn was announced as part of the cast of Secret Invasion when the series was announced in December 2020.

Merchandise
A Talos Funko Pop and Marvel Legends figure were released leading up to Captain Marvel theatrical debut in early 2019.