Captain Marvel – due for release next year – is Marvel Studios first female-fronted movie. But who’s in Marvel Comics’ latest superhero film? What’s it about? And, when will it be released? Here’s all you need to know.
Latest updates:
- Second trailer appears online
- First trailer released
- Why the film is set in the ’90s revealed
When is Captain Marvel out?
The release date for the movie in the USA has been set for March 8 2019, in IMAX and 3D. No official release date in the UK has been confirmed yet, but looking at the release dates of Marvel Studios’ past films, it could be out slightly before the American release date.
What’s it about?
Not much has been revealed about the plot, but the film is based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers – a US airforce pilot whose DNA is merged with an alien’s genes during an accident, giving her superhuman strength, endurance, and the ability to fly.
Who’s in it?
Brie Larson has been cast as Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel). Larson was reportedly sceptical about taking on the role at first, but later accepted. She told Vanity Fair she took on the role because “I couldn’t deny the fact that this movie is everything I care about, everything that’s progressive and important and meaningful, and a symbol I wished I would’ve had growing up.”
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in Infinity Wars? I’m wit it. She’s gonna be the strongest character on the hero side alongside the Hulk & Thor pic.twitter.com/Ml6TE0oHrA
— buk (@earsturr) March 6, 2018
Meanwhile, Samuel L. Jackson will return to his role as Nick Fury – of S.H.I.E.L.D – and will appear without his signature eyepatch because the film takes place in the 1990s, before he loses his eye. Jude Law will play Walter Lawso, who mentors Danver in using her new powers. Gemma Chan will star as Minn-Erva, a Kree geneticist, while Ben Mendelsohn, DeWanda Wise, and Robert Kazinsky have all been cast in unspecified roles.
Who’s behind the scenes?
The film is being directed Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, using a screenplay written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Robertson-Dworet took over work on the script in 2017 from Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve. While the film is being produced by Marvel Studios, it will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Is there a trailer?
Yes! There’s two, in fact. A second trailer appeared online on Christmas Day, in which Captain Marvel could be seen punching an old woman on a bus. Later, she declared: “I’m not gonna fight your war, I’m gonna end it.” Watch the second trailer below now.
Following a fan artfully putting together a “trailer” using mashed up scenes from different scenes from Marvel Studios’ films, the official trailer was released in early December.
It begins with Captain Marvel crashing through the roof of a Blockbuster video store from space before she meets Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. “I keep having these memories,” she tells him. “I see flashes. I think I had a life here but I can’t tell if it’s real.”
Fury tells her later: “We have no idea what threats are out there. We can’t do this alone. We need you.” Watch the full trailer below now.
Will we see Captain Marvel in action before the film is out?
Possibly. Captain Marvel could also make her first big screen appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, released on April 26 2018 in the UK, but it’s still unknown.
Has any artwork for the film been revealed?
Yes. In April last year, NBC Olympics posted a photo of American skier Mikaela Shiffrin wearing a Captain Marvel-inspired ski costume in cross–promotion for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Captain Marvel. Concept art for the film was shown at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.
Game. Face. ON. @MikaelaShiffrin is working it at the #WinterOlympics promo shoot. pic.twitter.com/YsSlGGfmx2
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) April 27, 2017
Has filming begun?
In March, Marvel Studios announced that principal photography had begun in Los Angeles, which will serve as the production base for the film. There will also be shooting on location in Fresno, California, as well in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
A photo was also shared of Larson with Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot. See that below.
Production has begun on Marvel Studios' #CaptainMarvel. @BrieLarson receives instructions from Brigadier General Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander, on a recent visit to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to research her character. pic.twitter.com/i5brzZH852
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 26, 2018
Why is Captain Marvel set in the ’90s?
The reasoning behind setting Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie in the ’90s has been revealed. According to executive producer Jonathan Schwartz, basing the film in that decade makes Captain Marvel the only superhero in existence.
“It’s giving Carol a place in the cinematic universe that she can carve out for her own, where she wasn’t one superheroine out of many,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
He added that the film would also reference action movies from that era, saying: “’90s action movie is not the worst reference in the world, especially when you start looking at Robocop, Total Recall, even Starship Troopers a little bit. “Terminator 2, Independence Day – there’s a high-concept action-movie feel there that ends up being very character-based but also super badass, which is kind of the bullseye we wanted to hit.”