Zawe Ashton's villainous role in The Marvels, aka Captain Marvel 2, has been a mystery for years, but Disney has finally confirmed the identity of her gender-swapped villain.
In the lead-up to this confirmation, Ashton wasn't too helpful in clarifying her role in the sequel, other than she "had the best time doing it." However, footage from D23 in 2022 showed fans that she wielded a hammer similar to Lee Pace's Ronan, who was last seen in Captain Marvel.
However, the first public trailer for the Captain Marvel sequel has confirmed Ashton's affiliation with the Kree and showed her brandishing a Universal Weapon given to all Kree Accusers. But fans still lacked a name for Ashton's villain.
That is until the press kit for The Marvels revealed that Ashton will help adapt a minor villain from the comics.
Zawe Ashton Is Dar-Benn In The Marvels
In the press kit for The Marvels provided by Disney, the name of Zawe Ashton and Daniel Ings' characters were revealed.
The caption of one image in the press kit that focused on Ashton reads that she will be playing Dar-Benn, while Ings will be playing Ty-Rone.
Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn and Daniel Ings as Ty-Rone in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS.
In the comics, Dar-Benn was a general of the Kree who overthrew the then-Emperor of the Kree Empire, Clumsy Foulup, with the help of his co-conspirator Ael-Dan. Foulup's death would be framed as an assassination done by the Skrulls.
Considering that Ashton and Ings seem to be presented as a pair, it's likely that Ty-Rone is taking the place of Ael-Dan.
A Kree Revolutionary
The last time Marvel Studios did something similar to this was when it used the name of one Moon Knight villain who appeared in a single comic book issue, Arthur Harrow. The only similarity Ethan Hawke's MCU character had with that antagonist was their names, which could be the same case here.
However, the actual backstory involving Dar-Benn in the comics seems ripe for the MCU, especially how the plot synopsis for the sequel suggested that Ashton's villain is "a Kree revolutionary." So, one aspect of the plot will possibly be her attempting to take over the Kree Empire, thanks to the power vacuum caused by Carol Danvers deposing the Supreme Intelligence.
Fans will discover Dar-Benn's true motives when they see The Marvels in theaters on November 10.
