BURBANK – Hold on everybody, Brie Larson may not actually have a role in “Avengers: Infinity War” or, sadly, it’s an incredibly small one.
After years of speculation, Oscar’s most recent Best Actress winner was formally announced as Marvel Studios’ Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, at San Diego Comic-Con a little under three months ago. While “Captain Marvel” is already on Disney’s release schedule for March 8, 2019, most assumed the super-powered hero would fly into theaters to help the Avengers battle Thanos in “Infinity War.”
Speaking to the press after a sneak peek of Scott Derrickson’s “Doctor Strange” Monday evening, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked how Stephen Strange’s origin story was different from the first “Iron Man” and “Thor” films. He ended up opening the door to some “Captain Marvel” news at the end of the reply.
“I think Benedict [Cumberbatch] is one of those ways. Benedict is an amazing actor and totally different than Hemsworth and totally different from Downey,” Feige says. “And, we want to stay true to who he was in the books. The metamorphosis of what he goes through is more drastic than Tony [Stark] and that was fun to chart. I guess ‘Panther’ isn’t really an origin story since we saw him already in ‘Civil War,’ but his stand alone certainly introduces you to 99% of his world which you never saw before. And ‘Captain Marvel’ is certainly an origin story from the start.”
Feige appears to be insinuating (uh oh, perhaps we shouldn’t go there) that Marvel will make her first real appearance in her solo movie. If that’s the case, you’ve got a long two and a half years to wait for it. It is believed “Captain Marvel” is currently moving forward with a script by Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve. There is no confirmed director at this time.
Larson won’t be sitting on her laurels waiting for “Marvel” to begin shooting in 2018. She appears in Ben Wheatley’s “Free Fire” which debuted at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival and should arrive in theaters in 2017. She also stars in “Kong: Skull Island” which opens on March 10, 2017. Dan Baron’s “Basmati Blues” and Destin Cretton’s “The Glass Castle” recently finished production.
“Doctor Strange” opens nationwide on Nov. 4.
For more industry insight and Oscar buzz follow Gregory Ellwood on @TheGregoryE
