For all their strengths, the Marvel Cinematic Universe have not been ideal as far as their female characters. Sure, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow steals the show when the movies let her, but otherwise, from Pepper Potts to Scarlet Witch, from Natalie Portman to whatever her name that kissed Captain America in “Civil War,” the studio’s women have tended to be underwritten and underutilized.
But as the MCU moves into Phase Three, there’s a fair amount of hope that they could be changing things: recent reports suggest that Elizabeth Debicki will be playing the villain in “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2,” Tilda Swinton and Rachel McAdams are in “Doctor Strange,” Evangeline Lilly gets equal title-billing in “Ant-Man & The Wasp,” Cate Blanchett and Tessa Thompson have major roles in “Thor: Ragnarok,” and Lupita Nyong’o will appear in “Black Panther.” And now, one more Oscar-winning woman looks to be getting involved, with Variety breaking the big news that Brie Larson is in talks to star in “Captain Marvel.”
The trade says that the actress is the studios’s top choice, and that the “Room” star, who’ll next appear in “Free Fire,” “Kong: Skull Island” and “The Glass Castle,” is “leaning towards playing the part.” Actresses like Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson had been rumored for the role, but Larson’s an obviously brilliant choice, and if she’s willing, and this isn’t another Joaquin Phoenix situation, this seems like as good a pick as could have been hoped for.
There’s no director signed yet, but “Inside Out” writer Meg LeFauve and “Guardians Of The Galaxy” scribe Nicole Perlman have been working on the script for a while. And Variety suggest that we could see Larson as Carol Danvers in another Marvel pic before she headlines her own. If not, we’ll be seeing Larson in action on March 8th, 2019.