How Captain Marvel became a feminist Marvel film

With Captain Marvel being the first female-led MCU movie, it was up to the cast and crew to ensure this would be a quality feminist film.

After 20 movies with male superheroes as the main character, Marvel is finally giving us a lead female superhero with her own movie. This is an exciting development and it’s definitely about time. Coming after the success of DC’s Wonder Woman and the diversity of Black Panther, filmmakers for Captain Marvel as well as Brie Larson focused on making this film feminist and empowering.

During a set interview with Entertainment Tonight, Brie Larson explained that she met with Marvel early on to make sure this movie would be feminist on a deeper level.

Larson said, “I had a meeting with Marvel and what we discussed is they wanted to make a big feminist movie.”

Co-director for the film, Anna Boden, expressed the same sentiment.

“The story lends itself to it,” Boden said. “We’re not trying to make this movie about all women. We can’t make it about all women’s journeys, but just be really true to this woman’s journey.”

Of course, no one movie can encompass the experience of all women, but having a female-driven superhero movie is a good start for the MCU. Hopefully, Captain Marvel will open the door to more MCU movies with female leads, including female leads of color and even LGBTQ superheroes.

Larson pointed out that her interpretation of Carol Danvers is of a woman who is complex and wild and completely herself. She wants to tell the story of Captain Marvel’s journey in a way that is relatable and strong.

"The fact that she is just herself and cannot be contained is pretty awesome. It means that she’s, like, wild! I love that she’s unapologetic. I love that she’s not apologizing for her strength, first as a human in the Air Force. That she’s never trying to shrink herself because of who she is. She can’t even be somebody else if she wanted to. She can’t."

We love this explanation, and we can’t wait to see Captain Marvel in action. Having a woman superhero who is willing to take up space and be a little wild and messy is definitely something we need in this day and age of #MeToo and Time’s Up.

During the set visit, it was reiterated that Captain Marvel really is the strongest character in the MCU up to this point. She even has more power than the comic book version does.

Samuel L. Jackson expressed why this will be so valuable to the Avengers later on.

"We need something that’s as powerful as Thanos. At some point, we’ll find out how powerful she is and all the things that she’s capable of. She’s one of the few people in the Marvel universe that can time travel, so…"

We can’t wait to see how powerful Captain Marvel really is, but her power doesn’t mean she can do everything alone. Carol Danvers may be super powerful and strong, but the film will also focus on the importance of women supporting women. Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) is Captain Marvel’s long-time friend and fellow fighter pilot, who is also a badass in her own right.

Lynch explained why it’ll be empowering to see Rambeau and Danvers go higher, further, faster.

"Being a female fighter pilot is more than just being strong and being able to do a good job. It’s a whole life. It means moving around a lot. It means training with only men, especially in the ’80s, which is when [my character] would’ve gone to college."

Maria becomes a support system for Carol when she can no longer remember her life on earth, helping her figure out her past and reclaim memories.

As Lynch describes it, Maria will be “giving her some history about herself, giving her some might through my words.”

We applaud the cast and crew of Captain Marvel for ensuring this film will have major feminist vibes, and more than just the surface level. From the filmmakers to the actors, everyone seems invested in telling a complex story about an extremely powerful and interesting character. We can’t wait!

Captain Marvel flies into theaters on March 8.