Movie: Captain Marvel
Release Date: March 8, 2019
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, DeWanda Wise.
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Writers: Nicole Perlman, Meg LeFauve, Geneva Robertson-Dworet

BRIE LARSON IS PLAYING CAPTAIN MARVEL



Captain Marvel is Marvel’s first female-led superhero film as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, casting an actress in the role of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, was a long and arduous process, just as it was casting every other major character in the MCU. A number of actresses vied and tested for the role, but it eventually went to Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson (Room, 21 Jump Street), who officially joined the shared universe in 2016.

THE SKRULLS ARE THE MAIN VILLAINS IN CAPTAIN MARVEL



The shape-shifting Skrulls are Captain Marvel‘s titular villains. It’s unclear if a specific Skrull will appear, but the race is confirmed for the film. Moreover, Rogue One actor Ben Mendelsohn reportedly joined the film as potentially the main villain, though he may not be playing a Skrull. Previous reports indicated that Mendelsohn will be playing Kree commander Yon-Rogg.

As for how Marvel is able to use the Skrulls, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn explained after the Skrulls announcement that only some Skrulls are wholly owned by 20th Century Fox, whereas Skrulls as a race are co-owned by both Fox and Marvel Studios. That’s what allows them to be a part of the MCU, even this late in the game.

CAPTAIN MARVEL IS SET IN THE 1990S



Captain Marvel will be Marvel’s second period-piece (behind Captain America: The First Avenger, which was set in the 1940s). Marvel revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that Captain Marvel will be set in the 1990s and feature the Skrulls. Specific details regarding the setting, aside from Nick Fury’s involvement, weren’t immediately clear. But, by taking place in the 1990s, the film will need to account for Captain Marvel’s absence in the MCU over all these years, which should make for an intriguing storyline.

NICK FURY, AGENT COULSON, RONAN & MORE ARE IN CAPTAIN MARVEL



Despite being set before the start of the MCU as we know it, 2019’s Captain Marvel will feature a lot of familiar faces.

Samuel L. Jackson was at the forefront of getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe off the ground, and he will be making his sixth appearance as the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2019’s Captain Marvel. But, it will technically be Nick Fury’s first appearance canonically, seeing as the film is primarily set in the 1990s. That also means Fury will have both of his eyes in the film, not just one working eye and one eye-patch.

It was later confirmed at the start of filming that Clark Gregg, Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are all returning, persumably as their roles of Agent Coulson, Ronan and Korath respecitvely.

JUDE LAW AND DEWANDA WISE ARE STARRING IN CAPTAIN MARVEL


For the uninitiated, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel is only the latest person to bear that moniker. In the comics, Mar-Vell was the original Captain Marvel (at least in Marvel Comics), and Marvel Studios is making sure audiences remember that by casting Jude Law as Walter Lawson, aka Mar-Vell. However, Law may only be portraying the character’s human alias in the film in order to mentor and train Carol Danvers to control her newfound powers. DeWanda Wise is also starring in Captain Marvel but in an undisclosed role.

CAPTAIN MARVEL HAS A FULL SYNOPSIS


To mark the start of filming on Captain Marvel, a full synopsis was revealed teasing the events of the movie:

“The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

THERE ISN’T A CAPTAIN MARVEL TRAILER YET


A trailer for Captain Marvel hasn’t released yet. An exclusive batch of footage will most likely be shown at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, but it’s possible that the first teaser trailer for the movie will air around the same time as SDCC 2018. Captain Marvel is slated to release in March 2019, which means a trailer in June or July, leading into Ant-Man and The Wasp, will be perfectly primed.

A poster for Captain Marvel hasn’t released either. Marvel typically releases the first poster for their films ahead of the first teaser trailers for said movies. If Captain Marvel receives a trailer in July 2018, a poster should accompany it, or at least release at San Diego Comic-Con 2018.

Captain Marvel started filming a few scenes in January 2018, and the first look at Brie Larson in costume leaked online. Set photos showed Larson wearing what appeared to be a green Kree military uniform, not her official Captain Marvel suit. Fans speculated that Larson’s Kree uniform is merely the first costume she wears and that it could eventually be recolored and adapted into her final superhero suit (i.e. blue-and-gold). After all, the suit does look similar to her comic book costume.

Captain Marvel‘s story may actually become the impetus Nick Fury needed to get the ball rolling on the Avengers Initiative in the first place. After all, audiences already know that the original Ant-Man and Wasp were conducting heroic missions on their own decades prior to the Avengers forming.

Although Brie Larson was cast as Captain Marvel in 2016, she’s not expected to make her on-screen debut until her 2019 solo film. She will then reprise her role in that year’s Avengers 4. However, rumors suggest that she will be making her debut appearance in Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War in May 2018. Considering that she’s been busy filming early scenes for Captain Marvel, Larson may only have a brief cameo in the team-up film.

Leading up to Captain Marvel‘s official confirmation, it was believed that Marvel would try to find a female director for the film, just as Warner Bros. hired Patty Jenkins for Wonder Woman. And they did look at some top-tier female directors, but they ultimately settled on directing duo, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Mississippi Grind). They’ve only directed a few films, and they are newcomers to tent-pole films, but then again, so are most blockbuster directors nowadays.

One year after Marvel Studios officially announced Captain Marvel, screenwriters quite a bit of time perfecting the story while the studio searched for a director and star. They turned in their draft in December 2016. However, as the film progressed, the duo was eventually replaced with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, whose first major screenplay is 2018’s Tomb Raider. Although Robertson-Dworet rewrote Captain Marvel‘s script, the crux of the story Perlman and LeFauve wrote will be retained in the final cut.

Captain Marvel was originally slated to enter production in March 2018, but cameras started rolling on the project in January 2018. As it turns out, Marvel Studios was awarded $20.7 million in tax credits if they started filming the movie within 180 days of receiving the credit. Otherwise, the credit would expire. And that 180-day frame concluded in late January, hence why principal photography began much earlier than expected. However, Marvel was allowed to put the production on a 120-day hiatus – after completing filming for one or two weeks – and return in March without losing the tax credit.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Black Panther release date: Feb 16, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War / The Avengers 3 release date: Apr 27, 2018
Ant-Man & The Wasp release date: Jul 6, 2018
Captain Marvel release date: Mar 8, 2019
The Avengers 4 / Untitled Avengers Movie release date: May 3, 2019
Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel release date: Jul 5, 2019