Tension Palpable Between Gemma Chan’s Character, Jude Law’s in “Captain Marvel”

As Madam Ya Zhou, a delegate to the International Confederation of Wizards, in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Gemma Chan is no stranger to portraying characters immersed in a tense collective. From the sound of it, she’ll be in a similar situation as Minn-Erva in the upcoming superhero flick Captain Marvel.

With the long-awaited release of Captain Marvel coming up March 8, speculation has been running even more rampant than usual as fans rush to posit their last-minute theories. Fantastic Beasts may have urged us to #ProtectTheSecrets, but Marvel Studios generally adds an “or else” to that, making it difficult to separate fact from fan fiction.

What we do know for certain, however, is that Minn-Erva is a member of the supervillain team Starforce as well as a sniper and long-range specialist. She’s also a protégé of sorts of the still-not-entirely-defined character to be played by fellow Fantastic Beasts alumnus Jude Law, and the dynamic between them, she stated in an interview recently recapped by ComicBook.com, will affect interactions between Starforce members in more ways than one.

It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that it’s not all pleasantries and mutual respect within a villain co-op, but Minn-Erva has been previously willing – albeit grudgingly – to defer to Law’s character as the leader of the group. Chan did reveal, however, that the relationship is becoming strained.

I would say, actually, they have quite a complex dynamic between the two of them. She doesn’t always agree with his decisions. I can say that. But obviously, he is still her mentor and her superior. But yeah, there are a few cracks in that relationship starting to show.

One reason for that, Chan indicated, is that along with the student rebelling against the teacher, she’s also vying with another student – Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) – for the position of teacher’s pet.

I suppose before Carol joined the team, Minn-Erva was probably kind of the star of this Starforce team, and she was probably the favorite of the commander. So yeah, I suppose there’s more to do with their abilities rather than affections, as such. But yeah, I think there’s a mutual respect, someone else who’s also very good at their job. It’s kind of a playful rivalry.

We were only able to see Chan in limited action in Fantastic Beasts, so we can’t wait to see how her character navigates the minefield of superegos that is Starforce. Have any final theories of your own? Let us know in the comments!