An Oscar-Winning Superhero! Inside Brie Larson’s Casting and the Rise of ‘Captain Marvel’

There is definitely a sea change insofar as superheroes are concerned, thanks to the success of 2017’s Wonder Woman, the critical and box office reception of which has (finally) caused Hollywood to realize that a female-led film in this genre would connect with the audience. It’s a point that’s certainly been driven home since by the development of Black Widow, with Scarlett Johansson reprising her role from her adventures with The Avengers; the filming of Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and, now, Marvel Studio’s Captain Marvel, featuring Academy Award winner Brie Larson in the title role.

Producer Kevin Feige — architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008’s Iron Man — comments, “We’ve always had powerful female characters and heroes in our films, but having a female superhero franchise title character for the first time feels overdue, and it’s something that we have been excited about for a long time. [And] we thought it was the right time to finally introduce Captain Marvel to the world. She’s one of the most popular characters and one of the most powerful characters in the comics and will now be the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Hope Nicholson, author of The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters From Comic Book History, comments, “The success of Wonder Woman is important because if it had flopped, there wouldn’t be a Captain Marvel. That’s a fact. But I think we’re still in a precarious position where a single bad film could set us back a lot, which is a scary position to be in. You know, you could have a film like Green Lantern flop the way it did, and people aren’t going to say, ‘Well, don’t make anymore male superhero movies.’ We are in a position right now where every superhero film starring a female character has to be top of the line of the Marvel or DC universe in order for us to progress to the next.”

For much more, plus Brie Larson’s views on Captain Marvel, please scroll down! 

And be sure to check out our Classic TV & Film Podcast.