If all had gone as originally planned for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, we would now know who is playing Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the script and during production of the Joss Whedon film, there were machinations in the works that almost saw the Kree-fueled superhero introduced as one of the new members of the Avengers in the final scene. Before the movie hit theaters, however, those plans were scrapped, and movie-goers were left with a more familiar line-up of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. This development disappointed some fans, but one person who isn’t upset is Meg LeFauve, who is co-writing the solo Captain Marvel movie for 2019 and is happy to have fewer narrative restrictions in her work.
LeFauve’s most recent work has been on the new Pixar movie The Good Dinosaur and it was during a press day for the upcoming animated feature last week that I had the chance to talk with her about her approach to Captain Marvel and her feelings about The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Given comments from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about not wanting to rush Carol Danvers into her superhero status, I asked the screenwriter if there was a part of her that was happy Captain Marvel didn’t appear in Joss Whedon’s movie, and she explained,
Yeah sure. Sure, sure, sure. Only because I have more to play with. But I’m going to be happy with whatever Marvel gives us.
Sadly, Meg LeFauve couldn’t spill many more details about Captain Marvel - basically because there aren’t really any more details to spill. The film isn’t dated until early 2019, so things are still very much in the early stages. In fact, actual work has not begun on the script just yet. Said LeFauve,
We haven’t started Captain Marvel. We just got the phone call to come on over to Marvel for our first meeting. So I don’t know anything yet.
When Captain Marvel arrives, it will be the first film from Marvel Studios to center on a female protagonist as its lead – and the movie should have one hell of a story to tell. In the comics, Carol Danvers began as a member of the Air Force, but it was after being exposed to the explosion of an alien device that she started going through some serious changes. Her human genes fused Kree genes, and as a result she has super strength, speed and agility, can fly, and even does a bit of energy manipulation on the side.
Meg LeFauve will be working with Guardians of the Galaxy’s Nicole Perlman on the script for Captain Marvel, and while the film doesn’t have a director just yet, we may get a name in the next few months. Stay tuned for more updates, and get ready for the film to drop March 8, 2019.
