Although it wasn’t quite the “internet breaking” experience most fans were hoping for, hype levels were heightened for one of the MCU’s most anticipated Phase Three films, Captain Marvel, earlier today with Entertainment Weekly’s first look magazine cover boasting the fully-suited, titular hero herself (played by Brie Larson) on the cover.
Alongside the cover came brand-new plot details and quotes from both director Anna Boden (Mississippi Grind, It’s Kind of a Funny Story) and Larson, which shed some more light on what to expect from the character in her cinematic foray. “This is not a superhero who’s perfect or otherworldly or has some godlike connection,” said Boden (MCU’s first female director) in the EW piece. “But what makes her special is just how human she is. She’s funny, but doesn’t always tell good jokes. And she can be headstrong and reckless and doesn’t always make the perfect decisions for herself. But at her core, she has so much heart and so much humanity — and all of its messiness.”
“She can’t help but be herself,” Larson told EW. “She can be aggressive, and she can have a temper, and she can be a little invasive and in your face. She’s also quick to jump to things, which makes her amazing in battle because she’s the first one out there and doesn’t always wait for orders. But the [not] waiting for orders is, to some, a character flaw.”
Warning: Possible spoilers for Captain Marvel.
Up until this point, the following is all we’d been given for a synopsis (via IMBD):
Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
The new plot details divulged in the EW piece however suggest Captain Marvel will not only be a character unlike any we’ve seen yet before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but that the narrative will defy expectations as well:
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel sidesteps the traditional origin-story template, and when it begins, Carol already has her powers. She’s left her earthly life behind to join an elite Kree military team called Starforce, led by Jude Law’s enigmatic commander.
But before long, Carol finds herself back on Earth with new questions about her past. And she’s got a formidable enemy in the form of the Skrulls — the notorious Marvel baddies made all the more dangerous by their shape-shifting abilities. Ben Mendelsohn plays their leader Talos, who spearheads a Skrull invasion of Earth.
Speaking of Earth, Captain Marvel takes place in the mid-’90s, long before Steve Rogers was defrosted or Tony Stark built his first suit. That allows the film to introduce younger version of familiar Marvel faces — like Jackson’s Nick Fury, who’s still a two-eyed S.H.I.E.L.D. desk jockey — as well as let Carol carve out her own, unique space in the MCU.
A look at the Earth-invading Skrulls:
Possibly the most interesting takeaway from the description (besides Nick Fury being a “two-eyed desk jockey,” of course)? The whole “sidesteps the traditional origin-story template” detail. Sure, we all know how Peter Parker became Spider-Man at this point — but Captain Marvel, a lesser known Marvel Comics entity that Marvel Cinematic Universe president Kevin Feige himself has billed as the MCU’s “most powerful character”?
With these new details however, come coinciding questions. How will the storyline properly explain Captain Marvel’s glaring omission from Infinity War and all the previous MCU phases if she’s been around “long before Steve Rogers was defrosted or Tony Stark build his first suit?” Will the lack of a proper origin story and build-up make a character that could outshine Hulk and Thor on-screen make Captain Marvel seem overpowered? Or do you have faith in the MCU no matter what? Let us know in the comments.
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