Captain Marvel trailer: Who are the Skrulls and will they feature in Avengers 4?

The 1990s-set origin film could lay the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to tackle a storyline known as 'Secret Invasion'

The new trailer for Captain Marvel has introduced us to the latest threat to the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: the Skrulls.

In the comics, the Skrulls are a race of shape-shifting aliens intent on invading Earth, while also being engaged in a prolonged war with fellow extraterrestrials, the Kree. Captain Marvel, born Carol Danvers, is a human whose DNA has become fused with that of a Kree, resulting in her superpowers. The film suggests she doesn't remember her past on Earth.

However, she knows a Skrull when she sees one, which explains why the trailers so far have featured Captain Marvel punching an elderly woman square in the face – she's actually a Skrull in disguise.

The trailers do suggest the character's Nineties-set origin film will focus largely on Captain Marvel uncovering her past, but we could see her drawn back to Earth because of a Skrull attempt at invasion, which could even set the foundations for the MCU to draw from the "Secret Invasion" storyline of the comics.

It sees Earth become gradually infiltrated by the Skrulls, as they quietly take the place of many of the planet's superheroes, meaning pretty much anyone we know and love – from Black Widow to Captain America – could be revealed to be a Skrull-in-disguise.

Though it's unlikely the Skrulls will play any major role in Avengers 4, since the spotlight will still firmly be on Thanos and his apocalyptic plans, it could very well be that the sequel takes the first steps in kicking off the "Secret Invasion" storyline. It would allow the greater MCU narrative arc, which has so far been focused on the Infinity Stones, to move forward and open the door for further massive crossover films.

Is the reason Hawkeye was missing in Avengers: Infinity War that he's been busy getting replaced by a Skrull? We'll just have to wait and see.

With the screenplay penned by a team consisting of Boden and Fleck, Meg LeFauve, Nicole Perlman, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Liz Flahive, and Carly Mensch, the cast for Captain Marvel also includes Jude Law, Annette Bening, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Algenis Perez Soto, Rune Temte, McKenna Grace, and Jude Law.

Samuel L. Jackson also returns as Nick Fury, SHIELD's leader, while Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are back as their characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan the Accuser and Korath the Pursuer.

Captain Marvel will reach cinemas on 8 March 2019.

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