Going Higher, Further, Faster with the Cast & Crew of “Captain Marvel”
By Melanie Gable
*I was invited as media to attend the press junket for “Captain Marvel.” All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, was even more star-studded than usual on Feb. 22 when the cast and filmmakers behind Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” held a press conference to talk about the new movie. Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, shared production stories and insights, along with Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jude Law (Yon-Rogg), Producer Kevin Feige, Co-directors Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, and more. Erin Miller invited me to cover the event for her, and I was thrilled to learn more about the film from the stars themselves.
“Captain Marvel,” which opens March 8 (International Women’s Day), is the first Marvel Studios film to feature a solo female lead. The story centers on U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers, who gains awe-inspiring super powers under mysterious circumstances. Set in the 1990s, the movie acts as a prequel of sorts to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is one of the most highly anticipated films of the year.
Kevin Feige, Lashana Lynch, Jude Law, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Anna Boden, & Ryan Fleck
Rotten Tomatoes Editor Jacqueline Coley moderated the discussion, which featured the aforementioned talent, along with Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Lashana Lynch (Maria Rambeau), and Gemma Chan (Minn-Erva). Coley began with Feige, asking him about the process of selecting the directors for “Captain Marvel.” Boden and Fleck, a married couple and creative partners known for character-driven indie films, were an unconventional choice for a big-budget superhero movie. Feige explained the decision to hire Boden and Fleck for “Captain Marvel,” saying, “It’s their body of work, and it’s their focus on character…our belief that they wouldn’t have lost the character amongst the spectacle and the fun and the effects.”
Boden and Fleck, who are also writers, cinematographers, and editors, met on the set of a student film and worked together on “Mississippi Grind,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” “Sugar,” and “Half Nelson,” for which lead actor Ryan Gosling received an Academy Award nomination. The duo were at one point considered to direct “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but “Captain Marvel” turned out to be the right fit. Feige was particularly swayed by Boden’s pitch, adding that she spoke “very eloquently” about Carol Danvers and convinced the studio that she and Fleck were the right team for the job. During the film’s production, Boden even went up in a U.S.A.F. jet, as did Lynch and Larson, which Feige said was “super impressive” and joked, “I wouldn’t do it for a million dollars.”
Kevin Feige & Lashana Lynch
For Larson, who trained every day for months to play Carol Danvers, even pushing a 5,000 pound Jeep for 60 seconds (as seen in a video she shared on her Instagram page), the experience of preparing for the role was both emotional and inspirational. “When we’re talking about Carol’s strength and we’re talking about what I learned from her, it’s that I’m stronger than I realized,” shared Larson, who was able to dead-lift 225 pounds and hip-thrust 400 pounds during her training. “So this concept, when it comes to gender norms or what the human body is capable of, or in particular maybe what a female body is capable of, it’s capable of a lot.”
