I Can’t Believe the MCU Wasted This Amazing Actor, and Star Wars Proves They Should Get a Second Chance

Given the sheer number of characters populating both a galaxy far, far away and all those parallel Earths, it’s no surprise that Star Wars and the MCU share multiple actors. Ben Mendelsohn’s track record of electrifying performances had already made an impression within indie film and television circles before his snarling turn as the villainous Orson Krennic in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so it’s also no surprise Marvel snatched him up for 2019's Captain Marvel and kept him on their roster. Despite the Spider-Man: Far From Home end credits scene teasing the significant impact Mendelsohn's Talos, a Skrull general, might have on the franchise’s future, and despite the tantalizing yet tragic threat presented by a Skrull splinter group in Secret Invasion, Phase Five's kick-off series fumbles its pre-existing set-ups and its own inventions. And by choosing the least compelling options, the series wastes Mendelsohn, one of our generation’s slyest and most compellingly eclectic performers, which should be an egregious offense. In an ironic twist of fate, Andor's second season does the opposite — offering a masterclass on properly utilizing both character and actor that the MCU would be remiss not to follow.