Martin Freeman's Marvel Role Revealed: From Watson to 'Civil War' Government Worker!

Martin Freeman, best known for his roles as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy and John Watson in BBC's Sherlock, was announced as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe last year, but his character had remained a closely guarded secret ever since. Finally, months before his MCU début in Captain America: Civil War, it turns out he's playing Everett Ross, a character from Black Panther comics!

Kicking off the week, Empire Online published a new set of exclusive photos from this spring's highly awaited Civil War, including one with Emmy Award-winning Freeman alongside Emily VanCamp, who has been playing Agent 13 in the MCU since Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

In any case, Freeman's character, which was created in comic book form in 1998, is the official U.S. government operative in Wakanda. A diplomatic liaison, he meets Black Panther T'Challa, the King of Wakanda (played by Chadwick Boseman) and his entire world changes because, well, he does become pals with a superhero.

ICYMI Martin Freeman's character in Captain America: Civil War is revealed. It's not Tim. https://t.co/scoWrrxquA pic.twitter.com/Rq5d6AV30i

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) February 22, 2016

Collider reports that, during the events of Civil War, Freeman's character works on the Joint Counter Terrorist Center, teaming up with Agent 13 in Germany, where a lot of scenes were shot last year.

The assumption so far is that, being in the government, Freeman's character will be part of the insider team trying to put restraints on superheroes, particularly after the disastrous events of the first two Avengers films, where portions of several major cities were destroyed.

After this announcement, it seems like a safe bet that Freeman will be next seen in the MCU on the Black Panther movie, which is scheduled for a 2018 release date. Hopefully, he'll eventually get to share scenes with Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be debuting this year as the title character in Doctor Strange; the two currently star in the critical BBC smash series Sherlock, and they also shared the screen in The Hobbit films.

Captain America: Civil War reaches theaters on May 6.