Captain Marvel Begins. Infinity War Promises. Black Widow Waits.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 11:00AM by Nathaniel R
Brie Larson training with a real pilot
As you've undoubtedly heard given that half the internet (at least) is a conveyor belt for Marvel Studios propaganda news, Captain Marvel began shooting yesterday. Brie Larson headlines Marvel's first female driven superhero film. Despite the company's cultural prominence they didn't get to female heroes first. That honor actually belongs to the all but forgotten Supergirl (1984). If you only want to count the modern superhero film era (i.e. post X-Men, 2000) the honor belongs to the much-reviled Catwoman (2004), which was followed by the also-reviled Elektra (2005), and the also-also reviled My Super Ex Girlfriend (2006). If you want to only count the post-Marvel Studios world (i.e. 2008's Iron Man,was ground zero) they still didn't manage "first!" dibs but we shouldn't dwell on their priority problems. Thankfully Warner Bros / DC's Wonder Woman (2017) was beloved and hopefully signalled a turning point in the fate of the female hero subgenre...
That it even has to be a subgenre is maddening since women make up half the population! (Sigh)
Contrary to frequent internet rumors for the past two years, Captain Marvel will not be appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and, as it turns out, her film is set in the 1990s. From the press release:
Brie running to Jude Law on set
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.
Given that Carol Danvers is from Earth and Earth is somehow involved, isn't it a bit odd that nobody in any of the contemporary set Marvel films have mentioned her? Or is this a sneaky way to reboot the whole universe and recast younger cheaper actors as all the A-list heroes going forward? Sorry. We shouldn't give them any ideas since we like the current actors.
Joining Brie Larson in the cast are mandatory regulars and presumably de-aged S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg. Djimon Hounsou and Lee Pace will be reprising their Guardians of the Galaxy roles. Ben Mendelsohn and Gemma Chan are the villains. Rounding out the cast are Lashana Lynch, Algenis Perez Soto, Rune Temte, McKenna Grace, and Jude Law as the original Captain Marvel (who presumably hands the title over to Brie at some point?). The film is due in theaters on March 8th, 2019 so next year we actually get TWO female superhero films -- *GAY GASP* -- since Wonder Woman 2 is due in November, 2019.
In the meantime we'll just be over here waiting for the long long looooong overdue Black Widow movie. STILL. Even Ant-Man has two movies already (almost). And we'll be over here wondering when we're getting a gay superhero though we won't hold out breath.
Petition for Marvel to stop using the rainbow to promote the MCU films until they give us an LGBTQ hero pic.twitter.com/fP6XCt62ED
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) March 26, 2018
[Re: this tweet -- You'll remember they also used rainbow colored character posters to promote Thor Ragnarok!]
At least Marvel deigned to let TWO female superheroes be prominently featured in movie posters for Infinity War with Black Widow and Scarlet Witch. Is this a promise that they'll actually have something major to do in the movie? Probably. We hear that Scarlet Witch and Vision's romance is a major thread in Infinity War though we won't hold our breath for a magical android sex scene since Marvel doesn't acknowledge body parts unless they're used for punching or kicking... or split-second bare-chested pride in how hard the male stars have been working out.
Reader Comments (15)
I'd like to support this and Brie, but I don't know anything about this character and am worried she will be super vanilla.
I don't know if I really buy Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. I mean, she's an incredible actress. She wouldn't be an Oscar winner if she wasn't. But she doesn't really scream action hero to me. Then again, I could be proven wrong.
I just hope they get Hercules in the Avengers roster for phase 4. He's not only bisexual, but it's hinted he and Wolverine played together - or at least flirted with him - in the main continuity, and they both are a couple - a pretty hot musclebear couple, by the way - in a parallel universe, with a touching love story behind... among Hercules' "crushes", the main LGTBI Marvel icon, Northstar.
... by the way, I forgot. LGTBI characters in the MCU?
Loki is trans. No kidding. In the comic books, he turned into a woman
Valkyrie is hinted subtlely to be lesbian/bisexual, in Thor: Ragnarok
Traditionally, one of the Howling Commandos (Nick Fury in the comics, but the Captain America pals in WW2) is gay.
Edwin Jarvis is gay in the Ultimate universe (butler of Tony Stark, and with a huge crush on Thor), and I've read is also gay in "Agent Carter".
I am sure i am leaving some out... out of the MCU we already have...
Deadpool (omnisexual)
Colossus (gay in some timelines)
Storm (hinted many times to be lesbian/bisexual)
Yeah, not many, but that's about to change with the couple Shatterstar and Rictor joining X-Force in Deadpool 2... and Negasonic Teenage Mutant Warhead revealed to be lesbian.
I'm hoping for good things as it relates to Captain Marvel as it is helmed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck who have made some good films. I just hope it's successful enough for an all-female Avengers film.
Yeah I’m worried about this but probably shouldn’t be. I just want it to be great for Brie’s sake.
Jesus --- those are all in the comic books though (and parallel universes at that). we have yet to see anything LGBT in film. And no, Deadpool doesn't count as he was explicitly portrayed as a straight man with a girlfriend who liked to make jokes about being omnisexual.
The only true gay superhero is Batman. Give him back Robin for a healthy dose of Batcave buggery and make the Nolan fanboys lose their shit.
I'll watch this on a date with a basic or an airplane, eventually, as I do all Marvel Movies.
It feels like they have been working on this since before we were born.
Not to sound like an asshole, but doesn't the LGBTQ+ flag has much more colors in it? Plus, are they really using it subliminally though? Do you really believe they want the Marvel universe to be associated with it?
Also, you rejoice that they put the Olsen chick that prominently, a white person, while you fail to mention they didn't feature Black Panther instead (just a couple of days ago surpassing The Avengers in the US box office). I understand the other four, but why her?
It's really hard to root for you, you know?
Carmen Sandiego: Um...that's exactly what's wrong with the "Batman is gay" theory. The biggest crux of the argument either needs Batman to be a pedophile for it to work or to age up Robin and that worked SO WELL the last two times.
Matt St.Clair: If the reported budget ($110 million before tax rebates, $97 million after) is right, I'm pretty sure Captain Marvel is going to be lighter on action than every prior MCU film. (There are heroes where $110 million or less would sound like a normally structured action film was on the cards (Any of The Defenders, for example), but with Captain Marvel, it creates the impression that there'll be only one big action moment.) Considering they've mentioned Skrulls, don't be surprised if most of the film is slow burn paranoia.
Me34 -- you only set yourself up for disappointment if you care too much about what people think of you since most of the time online people are looking for reasons to be angry with each other. I've learned this the hard way.
But FWIW sexism is a real problem with Marvel Studios and I wish instead of 'rooting against me' and choosing to complain that *I* didn't complain about Black Panther, why not focus on the positive since sexism is a problem in the world?. No harm in each of us asking for progress in our own ways and thereby covering all fronts.
Why not just try to think generously about other people for a day some time -- i've found that when I remember to do it, it's actually mood lifting.
As for the rainbow colors, i'm not sure what rainbow you're thinking of but rainbows have six colors so they only skipped one (opting for an orangeyyellow rather than an Orange and a Yellow. This is not the first time they've indulged in their own rainbow for movie posters but this was a joke to underline a larger point that Marvel has inclusion problems and refuses to bring any of their gay characters to the screen.
Rainbow is not owned by the LGBT people anyway
I thought this started shooting weeks ago. Wasn't there photos of Brie Larson in costume a while back?
Jackie -- maybe it was preproduction tests? The press release says principal photography just began.