After months of rumors and speculation, Marvel Studios has finally made official what most fans had taken for granted since first reports of her casting were made back in June: Oscar winner Brie Larson will play Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.
Larson, who won an Oscar for her work in Room, is also knows for her roles in Short Term 12, 21 Jumps Street and Trainwreck. She can be seen in next year’s Kong: Skill Island and The Glass Castle. Her casting was revealed on stage at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Captain Marvel has had many versions when it comes to the comics. But when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the project back in October of 2014, he confirmed that their Captain Marvel would be Danvers, marking the film the first female-lead superhero feature in the quickly expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Originally debuting in 1968 as a human companion to the original Captain Marvel (the space alien Mar-Vell), Air Force pilot Danvers was the sixth Marvel character to use the name. It wasn’t until the mid 1970s that she developed her own superpowers, garnering the title of Ms. Marvel in 1977. In 2012 she was named the official Captain Marvel.
Feige previously stated that the character would “straddle two worlds.” Her origins are very much Earthbound, but her adventures and power base come from the cosmic realm.” Denvers is usually associated with Marvel’s “cosmic” line of heroes which includes Guardians of the Galaxy.
Though no reports were made as to when Denvers would make her MCU debut (Captain Marvel was originally set to appear at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultorn; however, casting hadn’t been finalized in time), her own film is set to hit theaters on March 8, 2019.
