Park Seo-joon discusses his first response after learning that Marvel Studios wanted to speak with him about joining the cast of The Marvels. The sequel to Captain Marvel, directed by Nia DaCosta, will be released in 2023. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) will be introduced to an adult Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani)—who will make her MCU debut in Disney+’s Ms. Marvel—in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Park, a South Korean actor, was revealed to join the cast of The Marvels late last year.Park, 32, is one of the most well-known performers working in South Korea today. He’s featured in Fight for My Way, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, The Divine Fury, and, most recently, Itaewon Class, a blockbuster K-drama. Western audiences would undoubtedly recall him from his part as Min-Hyuk in Bong Joon-Oscar-winning Ho’s thriller Parasite, where he portrayed the affluent buddy of Kim Ki-Woo (Choi Woo-Shik) who secures him the teaching position in that wealthy home. Park is now on the brink of making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.Park recently told The Guardian that he was surprised that Marvel Studios wanted to meet with him. He went on to tell about how frightened he was at first, without disclosing anything about his position. Read the whole quote below:”I couldn’t believe it when I initially heard that the Marvel Cinematic Universe wanted to meet with me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’m not afraid of obstacles, but whether I’m shooting in South Korea or overseas, everything is a challenge for me. So I did have some jitters at first. But everyone was so kind and helpful that I was able to settle in fast.”Following Park’s casting announcement, several hypothesized that he may be portraying Bruce Banner’s successor, Amadeus Cho, Marvel Comics’ best-known Korean superhero. Not only is Park too old to portray an adolescent, but Amadeus has little to no link to Captain Marvel or “the Marvels.” Park is more likely to portray Noh-Varr, also known as Marvel Boy, a Kree Empire soldier whose spacecraft crashes to Earth, killing his parents and fiancée. In the comics, the ship in New Jersey—where part of The Marvels’ shooting took place.
Park’s presence in The Marvels makes him the third significant South Korean celebrity to join the MCU, after Claudia Kim from Avengers: Age of Ultron and Don Lee from Eternals. It’s probable that he won’t be playing a super-powered character in the film, but rather a supporting part, such as an agent of S.W.O.R.D., who are slated to play a key role in The Marvels and Disney+’s Secret Invasion. Park is a box office attraction in South Korea, which is one of the world’s top five film markets. It’s reasonable to assume that Marvel Studios would not have approached him if they didn’t want his position to go beyond The Marvels.
