Park Seo-joon, best known for his roles in Itaewon Class and Best Picture Oscar-winner Parasite, is rumored to be portraying Captain Marvel’s husband, Prince Yan, in the upcoming film The Marvels. Park’s casting in the Captain Marvel sequel was announced in September 2021. More than a year after he was first confirmed to be appearing in The Marvels, Park’s role has remained undisclosed.
That hasn’t stopped fans from theorizing about who the South Korean actor might be portraying in the MCU. Initially, there was speculation that Park would be portraying Noh-Varr in The Marvels. In the comics, Noh-Varr is a soldier serving under the Kree empire in an alternate universe. His powers were further enhanced by altering his DNA with insect genes, making him half-man and half-cockroach. During a mission, Noh-Varr’s ship was destroyed as he and his crew flew over Earth-616. After the crash landing in New Jersey, Noh-Varr played a prominent role in Secret Invasion, which is set to become a Disney+ TV series in 2023.
As a result, many assumed that Park was portraying Noh-Varr and would make his debut in Secret Invasion before going on to appear in The Marvels. However, recent rumors suggest that Park will actually be portraying Prince Yan, Captain Marvel’s husband and the prince of Aladna. Following the release of the new teaser trailer for The Marvels, these rumors definitely hold up.
Is Park Seo-joon playing Prince Yan in The Marvels?
The Marvels‘ teaser trailer gives viewers a brief glimpse of Park in character. Very few hints are given about his role, but his costume could indicate royalty. He is wearing a very striking, vibrant blue cloak, along with shoulder pads in the shape of golden angel wings. This get-up, combined with his flowing dark hair, is definitely giving Disney Prince vibes. However, the fact that Park is seen wielding a sword suggests he has some combat skills.
Additionally, The Direct reported that the location Park’s character is in appears to be the same setting for a choreographed dance scene later in the trailer. This would be in line with Park playing Prince Yan: In the comics, Yan hails from the musical planet Aladna, where inhabitants speak in rhymes. A dance scene taking place in a Marvel film would be difficult to explain unless it was authentically adapting a place where song and dance are most likely to occur.
The rumor of Park portraying Prince Yan in The Marvels was reportedly first sparked by Marvel insider, Danie Richtman. According to Richtman, Park is portraying Prince Yan, the “leader of a musical planet where everyone has to sing to communicate.”
In addition to being musical, the males on Aladna have no choice in marriage. When Lila Cheney, a mutant child gifted with intergalactic transportation powers, arrived in Aladna, she became engaged to Prince Yan. Years later, upon her return to Aladna, she and Prince Yan no longer wished to marry, but the royal family held them to their engagement. When the villain Marlo showed up to challenge Lila for the hand of Prince Yan, Captain Marvel fought in Lila’s place. Upon defeating Marlo, Captain Marvel became Prince Yan’s bride. As a result of her position, she allowed him to wed a bride of his own choosing.
That rumor wasn’t met with enthusiasm by MCU fans when it first began to circulate. This is because many fans have been holding out for Larson’s Carol Danvers to come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and don’t want a marriage to Yan getting in the way. Fans were also put off by the idea of Park’s character leading a musical planet, expressing concern that The Marvels might be a musical.
While the idea of Captain Marvel having a husband may not appeal to fans, they also need to remember that, according to comic book history, it wasn’t necessarily a traditional husband-and-wife situation. Instead, it was about two characters helping each other out to confirm that everyone should have a choice when it comes to selecting a partner. Additionally, the dance scenes in The Marvels don’t look bad, especially now that Ms. Marvel has proven that such scenes can work in a Marvel project.
As of now, the Prince Yan theory still remains a rumor, as the teaser trailer doesn’t fully debunk or confirm it. Hopefully, with The Marvels fast approaching, we’ll get an official confirmation regarding Park’s character soon.
(featured image: Marvel Studios)
