Captain Marvel, out next March, will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie led by a female protagonist. (Technically there’s one in the title of this year’s Ant-Man & The Wasp, as the latter is Evangeline Lilly’s character, but the franchise belongs to Paul Rudd.)
Obviously if it’s terrible it will be proof that superhero movies starring women don’t resonate with audiences and they will never make another one, but the cast list released alongside the announcement that production had begun suggests that there’ll be a handful of top MCU blokes on hand to keep everyone’s periods from syncing up or whatever.
Me, riding into the conversation armed with Wonder Woman’s box office figures.
If you’re still reading, clearly you don’t consider casting announcements spoilers, so I’m going to just power on through.
Not only is Samuel L. Jackson returning as a pre-eyepatch Nick Fury, Clark Gregg is returning as pre-death S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson – his first return to the MCU films after spending four and a half seasons in the televised wilds of tenuous continuity, AKA the underappreciated Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The pre-eye loss/life loss part is possible because the film is set in the 90s – at least ten years before playboy armsmonger Tony Stark gets blown up and kidnapped in Afghanistan, and a good five decades into Captain America’s long nap in the deep freeze.
So Tony’s looking something like…this.
Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are also back as Ronan The Accuser and his mercenary mate Korath, respectively. You last saw them in the first Guardians Of The Galaxy movie.
They’re back because (and this is basic origin story for comics readers, but if you really want to be surprised, avert your eyes) Captain Marvel gets her powers by accidentally absorbing some Kree DNA into her own, and Ronan and Korath are Kree (blue-skinned aliens from a super-advanced planet).
Before that happens, she’s just plain old Carol Danvers, a promising Air Force pilot rising through the ranks at a pace that allows her to be extraordinarily great at her job by an age where she’s still young and hot enough to be played by Brie Larson.
In case you needed a reminder that Captain Marvel is the only MCU hero with an Oscar.
Jude Law also stars as Mar-Vell, who in the comics was the original Captain Marvel back in the decades where superheroes were buff, noble white dudes and very occasionally cute teenage girls and flawless goddesses. (Maybe this continuity is going to skip the whole patronising “Ms Marvel” girl-equivalent gimmick and save the title for a Kamala Khan movie?)
And Australian character actor turned unexpected blockbuster-bait Ben Mendelsohn is also playing, um, some guy, following turns in Rogue One and Ready Player One. He’s kind of a go-to villain now, so maybe that’s a hint?
But with the 1990s setting confirmed, we all know the biggest question will be when the soundtrack is out. Here’s hoping it’s basically the Guardians Of The Galaxy mixtapes but with wall-to-wall Bikini Kill.
