Annette Bening is joining the MCU! I repeat, lovely beacon of joy and light Annette Bening is going to be in a superhero movie!

The four-time Oscar nominee has joined the cast of Captain Marvel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Brie Larson-led film will turn time back to the ‘90s to show us Carol Danvers’ origin story, an Air Force pilot who obtained her powers after a radiation blast. There’s no word yet on who Bening will play, but while THR notes she may be playing a scientist, Variety‘s Justin Kroll says she’s rumored to play Carol Danvers’ mother. Hey, maybe she’s a scientist mom? Into it.

The news is a bit surprising considering Bening doesn’t spend too much, if any, time in big studio projects these days. Most recently she’s lead period films, from her excellent (and Oscar snubbed) performance in 20th Century Women to last year’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, and the upcoming Chekov adaptation The Seagull. But why not make Marvel‘s first solo female superhero movie the exception? Following Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s Michelle Pfeiffer and Black Panther‘s Angela Bassett, the MCU is shaping up to be an awesome venue for supporting roles from fantastic actresses.

Captain Marvel will be directed by Mississippi Grind‘s Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden with a screenplay by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve. On top of Samuel L. Jackson reprising his Nick Fury, the rest of the cast will include Jude Law and the original Captain Marvel, aka Mar-Vell, Ben Mendelsohn as (surprise) the villain, Gemma Chan as scientist Minn-Erva, She’s Gotta Have It’s DeWanda Wise, and Lee Pace. Captain Marvel hits theaters March 8, 2019.

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