While production has been under way since late January on Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel, it's never too late to add a new cast member, with a report revealing that Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening has come aboard to co-star. While the initial report doesn't reveal the character's identity, Variety reporter Justin Kroll tweeted out that he has heard Benning will be playing Carol Danvers' mother. That has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios at this time, though it is another major addition to an already impressive cast.

If Justin Kroll is correct, then Bening will be playing Marie Danvers, who doesn't have much of a presence in the Marvel Comics, aside from a few minor appearances in various different stories. While the initial report from The Hollywood Reporter doesn't reveal much about the character, it is said that she is believed to be a scientist, although that is all that was revealed about the character. There have been reports that Marvel Studios is altering the origins of Captain Marvel for this movie, which certainly isn't out of the ordinary, so it seems likely that Carol's mother being a scientist is one of those changes.

Bening joins a cast that includes Brie Larson as her on-screen daughter, Carol Danvers, along with Ben Mendelsohn as the villainous Yon-Rogg, Jude Law as Kree hero Mar-Vell, Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva, along with newcomers Lashanna Lynch, Algenis Perez Soto, Rune Temte, McKenna Grace in unknown roles. Other returning characters that have been previously established within the MCU include Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who will be "de-aged" since the story will be set in the 1990s, with rumors claiming this movie will show how Fury lost his left eye. Other returning MCU characters include Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser and Djimon Hounsou's Korath the Pursuer from Guardians of the Galaxy and Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson.

Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden (Mississippi Grind, Half-Nelson) are directing from a script that was originally worked on by Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out), and later by Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider), Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch (G.L.O.W. creators) and the directors themselves. Marvel Studios has set a March 8, 2019 release date for Captain Marvel, which has that date all to itself at this time. That date comes just under two months before Avengers 4 arrives on May 3, 2019, closing out Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Annette Bening is just the latest Hollywood legend that Marvel Studios has brought into their ranks for pivotal roles, joining Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Michael Douglas (Ant-Man) Michelle Pfieffer (Ant-Man and the Wasp) and more. This not only marks the first Marvel movie and first superhero movie for Annette Bening, but also a rare major studio movie for the four-time Oscar nominee, who has been seen primarily in smaller indie films like last year's Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool and this fall's Life Itself, where she stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson. You can head over to The Hollywood Reporter for their full report on this casting, and take a look at Justin Kroll's tweet below.