Brie Larson is Captain Marvel

In the comics, Carol Danvers was a downtrodden young woman, never really abused, but thought of as “less than” by her father. Her brothers were always shown preference, despite the girl’s hopes and attempts to gain favor. This only made her stronger and more determined than ever to become an amazingly successful woman. She joined the US air force as soon as she could, quickly gaining rank as a pilot. It wasn’t long before she was recruited by NASA, where she worked very closely with a Kree soldier, Mar-Vell. During a battle with nasty aliens, she was accidentally knocked into a machine that then allowed her to turn her imagination into reality.

Her newfound powers were difficult to control, and eventually, she was demoted from Colonel, causing her to resign and write a book that, well, didn’t make NASA very happy. Eventually changing her name to Ms. Marvel (a homage to her Kree friendship), she finally gained control of her powers, her mind, and became an official Avenger.

Carol will be portrayed by Brie Larson, whose breakout role was Mason in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Joining her will be Jude Law as the Kree Mar-Vell, and Ben Mendelsohn, whose villainous character has yet to be officially named.

Ben Mendelsohn has been less than forthcoming about his exact role in the movie. To be fair, everyone involved has been a little on the coy side about it. It has been announced that he will be in the movie, that much is certain. Using a little deductive reasoning based on the comic books, it is likely he will play someone from the race of Skrulls, green shape-shifters that are common baddies for her to face. Looking at Ben’s previous works and his physique, it is likely he will play the Kree commander Yon-Rogg, the arch nemesis of Carol’s friend, Mar-Vell.

The movie, which will open March 9, 2019, comes out just a few months before the second Infinity Wars movie, which at this time is unnamed. The screenplay was written by women; Meg LeFauve, of Pixar’s Inside Out fame, Nicole Perlman, who co-wrote the first Guardians of the Galaxy and worked on the first Thor movie, and relative rookie, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, who has worked on the upcoming Tomb Raider and Gotham City Sirens. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are directing, both known for darker-atmosphered movies than the traditional Marvel film. The movie will also follow in Captain America: The First Avenger’s footsteps, being set in the past. This story will take place in the 1990s. Most of us might not want to believe it, but the 90s were about 30 years ago, making this an official “period piece.”

We have Scarlet Witch and Black Widow, both glorious role models for girls everywhere. I know I’m not the only one excited to see a whole movie dedicated to a woman who, arguably, might even be a better role model, both as a human character and as a superhero.