The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given us all the information needed regarding how our favorite heroes came to be. Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man and everyone in between have had their past fleshed out, so it was really refreshing that two recent additions (Black Panther and Spider-Man) skipped the pre-introductions and jumped right into action. Was this to the new normal for Phase 3? Nope.
In November, Doctor Strange will follow former surgeon Stephen Strange as he transitions from master of surgery to master of the mystic arts. Then there’s the case for the next great MCU hero. During a Q&A following a special Doctor Strange sneak peak, Cinemablend got Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to talk about the new characters emerging in the cinematic universe and how their stories will be told.
“[Black] Panther is not really an origin story, since we saw him already in Civil War. But his standalone certainly introduces you to 99% of his world that you never saw. And Captain Marvel is certainly an origin. It’s an origin story from the start.”
Considering Civil War already showed how T’Challa became king of Wakanda, it shouldn’t be a shock that his solo project will just move forward from the events we’ve already witnessed. The same can be said for Spider-Man, especially since we’ve already received two solo Peter Parker origins in the last 15 years. Still, it’s surprising that Captain Marvel is going in a different direction.
For one, Brie Larson has already been cast in the role of Carol Danvers. Since the movie is being released three years from now and no director has been attached, all signs pointed to Captain Marvel making her big debut in Infinity War. The Russo brothers have even gushed over the idea of working with her again. If Captain Marvel is getting the full origin treatment in her own movie, could this jeopardize a substantial role in Infinity War and keep her on the shelf until the fourth Avengers movie rolls up two months after Captain Marvel?
It’s hard to complain about anything Marvel has done or is going to do, since they’ve been in the business of proving people wrong since 2008. Still, why bring Larson on board already if she’s not going to be a factor until 2019? Even worse, if they do introduce her in Infininty War… going back into origin mode could be detrimental. If we’re already accepting Carol Danvers and her powers in Avengers 3, then will people really care to learn how she got her powers in the first place? I’m not going to bet against the Marvel machine, but doing an origin story following an official debut seems like working in reverse.
Of course, the worst case scenario is Danvers having only a short cameo in Infinity War, then having her origin told, finally leading to her involvement in Avengers 4. Too much excitement came from the Brie Larson announcement for Marvel to not include her in the next Avengers outing.
Of course, there’s nothing actually wrong with doing a Captain Marvel origin story. While we’ve seen our fair share of origin stories over the year, Carol Danvers isn’t one that’s ingrained in our consciousness. We know how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, how Bruce Banner manifested his alter ego The Hulk, and how Tony Stark escaped that cave in the Middle East. But for Danvers, it would actually be a story worth seeing on the big screen. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn how a pilot got her DNA infused with an alien during an explosion leading to her acquiring superhuman powers? That has blockbuster written all over it!
So, while all signs point to Captain Marvel making her presence known in Infinity War, it seems we’re destined to still get her background story told ten months later. While the format seems strange, if any group can pull it off it’s the minds at Marvel Studios. In the end, it doesn’t matter how Carol Danvers gets brought into the fold, or if we get a full backstory. What really matters is that Captain Marvel is coming, and that should be good enough for any Marvel fan.
