Before she gained incredible powers and became an agent for the Kree empire, Brie Larson’s version of Carol Danvers, like her comic book counterpart, was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. As we’ve seen in the Captain Marvel previews, she flies planes alongside Maria Rambeau, and we’ve known for a while that these two are friends. However, the way Larson describes it, there’s more than just a simple camaraderie between these two. After Lashana Lynch, who plays Maria, noted that Maria and Carol get along so well because they’re both women in a male-dominated military and share similar personalities, Larson added:
What they’ve gone through together, going through military training together, being the only women, and using each other to lean on each other, and using that support as a recognition of her experience, is really special. Of course I think they’d be friends outside of that. But that really tight knit bond is family. This is the love of the movie. This is the love found again. This is the person to go to the ends of the earth to fight to defend. And to me, it’s so natural. I went and saw the movie and an hour later they were like, ‘Maria is the love.’ It’s not something we made a big deal about, but it feels so natural. That love is so strong. The movie shifts when she’s on screen because there’s a level of power she commands.
Carol Danvers’ relationship with Maria Rambeau was among several topics discussed during the Captain Marvel press conference that CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg attended. While it doesn’t sound like these two women are involved romantically, Brie Larson’s comment does make it sound like the love that they share with one another fills the gap that would normally be occupied by a traditional romantic relationship in a movie. We don’t know what Carol’s family life is like in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but clearly because of their time together in the Air Force and their shared experiences, Carol would go higher, further, faster to protect and help Maria.
Looking at Captain Marvel through that lens, it makes Carol Danvers’ situation at the start of the movie sadder, as when we meet her at the start of the movie, she’s serving on the Kree Starforce team and doesn’t remember her past. Eventually that will change once Carol ends up back on Earth and, during the course of hunting down Skrull infiltrators, learns about her life as a human. One can imagine that whenever Carol sees Maria after being away for so long and remembers her best friend, it will be an emotional reunion.
Let’s also not forget that Maria Rambeau has a daughter, Monica, who has been a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe for nearly four decades. If Carol Danvers is so close with Maria, Monica probably looks at Carol like an aunt. Since Captain Marvel takes place in 1995, that means Monica is an adult in the present day. So even though it hasn’t been revealed yet where Carol’s been since the events of Captain Marvel, it’s also a good bet that despite all that passed time, Monica, like her mom, would be overjoyed to see Carol again. Who knows, maybe Carol being back in Monica’s life again could pave the way for her to embark on her own superhero journey.
Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, and Brie Larson will be back as Carol Danvers for Avengers: Endgame on April 26. As for what else the MCU has in the works, look through our handy guide for that information.
