After ‘The Hobbit’ actor Martin Freeman signed on to ‘Captain America: Civil War’, several rumors as to what mysterious role he will play have also gone viral.
Comic Book Movie has learned that the actor might be portraying a character named Edward Chase, who will be introduced as the Prime Minister of England in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
His story is likely to begin after the destruction that was brought on by Captain America’s war with Crossbones, which is expected to cause grave consequences, including British soldier casualties.
Freeman’s character will be included in the side of those who will be putting pressure on Captain America’s New Avengers to keep them in control.
The Prime Minister may have also been mentioned in Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ in the scene before Ultron and the twins visit Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis). With Klaw on the phone referring to the other party as ‘Minister’, such individual is speculated to be Freeman’s Edward Chase character.
As to why he and Klaw were having a conversation, it is suggested that the Minister would want to illegally get his hands on vibranium and use it to come up with weapons that can be used by the U.K. to put a stop to the increasing number of superheroes in the world.
However, all these speculations remain unconfirmed until official announcements are made.
“From his roles as Bilbo Baggins and Doctor Watson to Tim in The Office, Martin’s range from the dramatic to the comedic has consistently impressed us,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige shared, referring to Freeman's decision to join the Marvel universe. “We couldn’t be more honored or excited to have such a talented actor join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Freeman has signed on to a cast that is already filled with heroes and villains from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aside from Chris Evans who will be coming back for the titular role, other stars to appear in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ include Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Frank Grillo, Daniel Bruhl, Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.
Chadwick Boseman will also make his first onscreen appearance as Black Panther.
Freeman is the next actor from ‘Sherlock’ to jump over to the Marvel film universe after co-star Benedict Cumberbatch signed on to portray fictional superhero Doctor Strange in his own feature film.
With his small-screen role in the British version of ‘The Office’, Freeman became a popular name and more recently attained Emmy nominations for his insurance salesman character in the hit miniseries ‘Fargo’ from FX.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ is scheduled for a premiere on May 6, 2016.