01x02 - Captain Marvel

[bunniefuu]

Growing up, I was a fan
of comic books as a kid.

My family would play this game
called Quarters. It's a card game.

You get a couple quarters to
start. It's like how you bet.

It was a brilliant
game for me because,

I think, when I
was buying comics,

it was maybe 75 cents or $1.50.

And so, if I won a
game of Quarters,

I could go buy a comic,

or a couple, if I was
buying older comics.

I was hugely inspired by the
women that I saw in comics,

that they were battling,
you know, creatures

and then also personal
problems at the same time.

Getting exposed to that at
a young age is monumental.

I'm unstoppable

I'm a Porsche with no brakes

I'm invincible

Yeah, I win every single game

I'm so powerful

I don't need batteries to play

I'm so confident

Yeah, I'm unstoppable today

I'm unstoppable today

Unstoppable today

Unstoppable today

I'm unstoppable today

SANA AMANAT: In Marvel
Comics' history,

there have been really successful,
powerful female characters,

like the Invisible Woman,

Black Widow, Storm,

Gamora, Scarlet Witch,

Shuri, and Carol Danvers.

DECONNICK: Carol Danvers was
created in the early 1960s

and she was an Air
Force Security Officer.

And she continued to exist as
a sort of background character.

And then, in 1977,

Gerry Conway and his
then-wife, Carla,

made Carol into Ms. Marvel.

She was given powers

and it was a deliberate
feminist take.

AMANAT: For the next several
decades, Carol Danvers

was one of the most popular
female superheroes that existed.

And then, in 2012,

we decided it was time to
reimagine her character.

Comic book writer
Kelly Sue DeConnick

shaped her into a relatable, strong
fighter pilot that was more empowered.

And that's when she
became Captain Marvel.

Fans loved the new Carol,
so she was an obvious choice

for the first female-led film in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

LIVANOS: This iteration of
Captain Marvel is a unique one.

Her history in the
comics is complicated

and has gone through
many iterations.

I feel we've really been
able to pick through

and take the very best to
create something impactful.

Marvel has made
incredible leaps forward

in developing female characters
and putting them onscreen.

ALONSO: I think it was important
for us to tell her story

because she is one of the most
powerful, if not the most powerful

superhero we have.

With Captain Marvel,

I knew we were
creating a character

that was going to be
even more otherworldly

than most of the characters
that we'd seen so far.

So, for me, it was
even more important

to have an actress who would
approach it from a grounded place,

to ground Carol Danvers in
reality, in her humanity.

Captain Marvel
herself, Brie Larson!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

FINN: For me, she is the
perfect Carol Danvers because

she is an accomplished
actress who can do anything.

She's funny.

Wow. You're the Captain now.

- I always was. You just didn't know.
- (LAUGHS)

She's dramatic.

- What did you do to me?
- It's like a bad trip, isn't it?

FINN: She approaches her work

with a dedication
that's pretty unmatched.

MAN: Action! One and
two and stance! Nice!

And she had the passion
for the role, ultimately.

LARSON: Getting ready to play
Carol, I went through the comics

and learned a lot about
the core of who Carol is.

Carol Danvers is an
interesting character,

in that she has one foot on Earth
and one foot in the cosmic arena.

When we first meet Carol
Danvers, we meet her as Vers,

a Kree warrior who does not
remember her human origins.

But when she comes
back to Earth,

she finds Carol Danvers and Vers

weren't so different after all.

LARSON: Carol Danvers, in her
human form, is an Air Force pilot,

incredibly well-achieved
in her field.

A true badass.

Through a blast,

she loses her memory

and she gains powers.

(GRUNTS)

(GROANS)

BERMAN: As we go through
the film's story,

she learns who she used to be.

Then, her final act is figuring
out who she wants to be.

I knew it! Everyone
said you were dead.

I'm not really who
you think I am.

I think Carol Danvers
is the most powerful,

most empowered character in
the whole Marvel Universe.

But she's also a regular person.

And I think that's
one of the things

that's so important
about women superheroes,

is that heroism is everybody.

We all want to feel inspired to
be the best versions of ourselves.

I'm only human.

One of the most powerful messages
that Captain Marvel represents

is the inability
to accept a "no."

Like, when she falls down...

(GROANS)

her strength comes from
learning to stand up again.

That's something I connect to.

I was attracted to the tenacity
of Captain Marvel's character,

and I found that inspiring.

LARSON: With Carol, one of
the main cornerstones of her

is that she gets back up
after the mistakes she's made.

And that's something
I really appreciate

about her as a role model.

She can be c*ck.

She can say the wrong thing.

She puts her foot in her
mouth, but she owns up to it,

and that's, I think,
really important,

far more than trying to reach
some sort of perfection.

Carol Danvers, as a character,

is one who always
looked to the stars.

She isn't just a
female protagonist.

She has a distinct personality.

Put that on.

- What is it?
- It's the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo.

Does announcing your identity on clothing
help with the covert part of your job?

LIVANOS: Young
girls recognize her

as real, and relatable,
and admirable.

(GRUNTS)

If you asked me a couple
years ago, I'd have said,

"She's so different from me."

I was an introvert with asthma

and that was really antithetical
to who I thought Carol was.

But I do feel like,
playing her now,

I'm more blended
with her than not.

Some of her most
powerful moments,

it's when Carol's at
her lowest, her weakest.

And so, I truly felt in those moments
that I was being reminded of myself.

The story of her in the film

is about her coming to terms
with that she's controlled.

She thinks that she's
supposed to be a certain way.

- You must let go of the past.
- I don't remember my past.

It's causing you doubt, and
doubt makes you vulnerable.

IMAN VELLANI: No, I think Captain
Marvel being told by Yon-Rogg

that she's not good enough, that
her emotions get the best of her,

that her vulnerabilities
make her weaker,

perfectly captures
what we go through.

There's nothing more dangerous
to a warrior than emotion.

VELLANI: But
throughout the movie,

we see Carol
actually defying that

and being like, "My
emotions are mine."

Can you keep your emotions in
check long enough to take me on?

Or will they get the
better of you as always?

BERMAN: I believe Carol realizing
that her power is in her emotions

is a really strong
point of self-discovery,

where the Kree try to convince her
that she is just this weak human

and she realizes that she'd
been restricted this whole time,

and she had way
more power in her.

I have nothing to prove to you.

Her arc is one of realizing

that you have to be empathetic.

You have to embrace
your emotions.

Your ability to connect with other
people is what makes you strong.

And I think that what
Carol Danvers learns

is that her love
for other people

and her compassion is
what allows her to become

the most powerful
person in the universe.

Where's your head at?

In the clouds. Where's yours?

On my shoulders. About to
show these boys how we do it.

One of the things I really
love about Captain Marvel

is there's no
romance in the movie.

There was no reason to
have a male counterpart

'cause it didn't add
anything to the story.

And it's one of the best friendships
that we've put together in the MCU.

LARSON: In this film,

the great love of her
life is her best friend.

Is that really who you are now?

I don't know.

And it's humbling, because you realize
love doesn't have to be romantic.

It can be a deep friendship.

No. What's hard is
losing my best friend.

What if a woman is just
friend to another woman

and they are enough
for each other?

And they make each other feel like
they are enough for themselves.

Carol and Maria, they
have this really healthy

love and trust for each other.

They were the only ones who were there
for each other when things got hard.

My best friend,

who supported me as a mother and
a pilot when no one else did.

Come here. Come here, girl.

I got you.

BENING: Everybody has struggles

and we all have to find
a way to deal with them,

whether it's through
our support system,

our family, our loved
ones, our friends.

Early start to your morning.

Late night, actually.

I can't sleep when there's
work to do. Sound familiar?

Flying your planes
isn't like work.

BENING: Dr. Wendy Lawson
is a brilliant scientist

who is very much interested
in trying to mentor Carol.

This isn't about fighting wars.

It's about ending them.

PERLMAN: The
character of Lawson is

somebody who isn't
Captain Marvel's mother,

isn't a sister or friend,

but is somebody who, nevertheless,
shapes her really intensely.

BENING: I'm the older scientist
encouraging the young pilots

to build their skills,

to become great at what they do,

and to know the power
within themselves

and not be afraid of
their own potential.

I kind of have
always had that in me

because my mom was so amazing.

She is my hero, still. She's 92.

She was always such an
intelligent, committed,

interesting, informed
woman, and she still is.

I also had another hero in
my life who was this woman

that I started babysitting for
when I was 12, 13 years old.

We became friends

and, as I got a bit older, we
learned to scuba dive together.

And we have been dear,
dear friends ever since.

We all need these
figures in our lives,

whether they're our
moms, or our teachers,

or our aunts, or
our grandmothers.

We all need to be brought
along and to be encouraged.

We all need support.

I don't care who you are.

You need somebody to say to you

what Dr. Lawson says
to Captain Marvel,

which is, "You have the
power inside of you.

"You just have to access it."

Yes. Come on.

Whoa!

LARSON: Before the film started,

the physicality was
a huge fear of mine.

I trained really
hard for that film

and it doesn't come
without hitting the floor.

Stunts, fight training, you
slip, you fall on your face.

And to me, life is that.

But when you meet yourself,
when you're terrified,

when you are tested,
you're stronger, taller,

bigger than you thought.

MAN: And, action!

(GRUNTS)

LARSON: What's so interesting about
physical transformation is it's mental.

I learned it clearly
with deadlifting.

I couldn't break 200 pounds.

I just couldn't for months.

I was just clicking along

and every time I
went to go lift 200,

I just would freeze
and I couldn't do it.

And then I finally broke
it and got to like 215

because my trainer lied and
said that it was at 175.

So I started realizing that
the whole game was the mind.

TRAINER 1: Release!

TRAINER 2: Go, go,
go! Dig, dig, dig!

LARSON: I've learned a
lot of things from Carol.

I learned that

I am a lot stronger
than I realized.

TRAINER 2: Five, four...

(LAUGHS)

LARSON: I am physically
much stronger,

mentally much stronger.

That I am quite
comfortable in my body.

It's why I love my job so much, is
because it pushes me to the edge.

I felt pretty exhausted just walking from
getting coffee up to my tent again, so...

I am not sure how
this is gonna go,

but I'm gonna try really,
really hard. (CHUCKLES)

The physical training changes
the way that you view things.

It changes the way you perceive the
world, and Carol is hyperfocused.

She is very perceptive.

And so, putting myself
in that mindset,

where I was clearing my mind
everyday through the training,

helped me bring her to life.

It helped me to have this role

and to have Carol as
this guiding light.

I don't know how many of these
steps I would've taken without

being pushed into it.

I can't believe I just did that.

(PANTING)

Before the film started,

I was a nervous flier,
to put it lightly.

But I learned a lot from
my time at the Air Force.

I had the pleasure of meeting
the first female Air Force pilot.

This is General Leavitt,
who is a legend.

A legend!

INTERVIEWER: Is there
anything you cannot do

in comparison with
your male counterparts?

Do you have the stamina to
compete one-on-one, do you think?

Yes, sir. I go through the same
training my male counterparts do.

And I've had no problems so far,

and I'm looking forward to the
challenge of flying the F-15E.

What would it be like to fly?

I've never done it.

That's where we're going, hangout
here, do some fighting here.

LARSON: You can't imagine
what G-forces are like

until you're actually in
it and experiencing it.

We were flying back and the
turbulence started to get to me.

Horrific. Terrible.

I'm strapped in and I'm
still bouncing around.

I'm like, "This is it. I'm not gonna
make this movie. It's the end of me."

And I remember my pilot
talking to the tower saying,

"We've got some turbulence."

And I heard this voice from the tower,
"How'd you describe the turbulence?"

And I'm thinking, "Worst ever!"

And she goes, "Mild."

And I was like, "Okay."

I realized that
these planes can do

insane maneuvers in
the air effortlessly.

And I have been a very
chill flier since then.

In the comics, Carol's gone through
many iterations of her costume.

And it was not the most
practical in real life.

I just feel like clothes
should make sense,

especially if she's
flying in space

and fighting strange creatures.

It should be protective.
It should have a purpose.

How do I look?

The costume, actually,
was a huge part

of why I was excited
about the film.

HAYS: The costume on the
screen is important because

you immediately make judgment

about that character
based on what they wear.

And so Brie and I both agreed

that it needs to
look like a uniform,

but yet, it needs to look like
a uniform on a female body.

There was no reason to make
it cutesy or anything else.

It's all about inner power.

TRAN: We really want to make sure
that the MCU female superheroes

stand next to the men

and they're equally badass in
the uniforms that they wear.

And it represents their
skills and characteristics

and not necessarily their body.

We really talked about not
making her look too sexy.

I worked with a great makeup
artist, Heba Thorisdottir,

and it was really great, like,
coming up with Brie's look.

I'm a third-generation
hairstylist.

I've played with
hair my whole life.

I know what the '90s looked
like. I grew up in it.

We looked at rock
'n' roll pictures.

We looked at Stevie Nicks.
We looked at Joan Jett.

We looked at all
those girls of like

that whole rock 'n'
roll, hair band era.

I have to say, the '90s,

the hair is not so fabulous.

But, you know what?

I think we did a good
job figuring it out.

I think it's so
important for women

to see an unapologetic

representation of
female power and glory.

Women are given a
lot of messages about

how to hold their power and how to
express it and what's appropriate.

I think in the Marvel Universe,

we're able to see women
owning their power.

And now!

We want you to change it.

Yeah. That's what we like,
we want to keep it going.

Okay.

Anna is so amazing
and super inspiring

when she was directing.

She knew what she wanted, and I'm
like, "This is an amazing director."

After I was filming, I
was thinking to myself,

"When I'm older, I want to
become a director like her."

It's so important for women
to be behind the scenes

as well as in front of the camera,
because it informs all we do.

It informs the stories we
tell, the way we tell them,

the lens through
which they are viewed.

I love every single one of you,
and it's not just because I'm hot

and I've sweated out all my water
and I had two sips of champagne.

I really, really have appreciated
every single one of you.

I really do. Okay.

- Let's finish this movie!
- (ALL CHEERING)

BERMAN: I was one of those kids who
was always in love with filmmaking.

I've always wanted
to make movies.

That's just been
part of who I am.

I love the process of editing.

That's really where you can
kick into high storytelling gear

and craft the story,
the characters.

As a female editor,

editing Marvel's
first female-led film,

I definitely felt a
responsibility to get it right.

The most powerful moment in Captain
Marvel comes right at the end.

There's a take where
Carol stands up

and she says, "My
name is Carol."

My name is Carol.

That's her superhero moment, as
you'd call it. She claims herself.

And there were a lot
of takes that Brie did

that were what
you're used to seeing

and what felt right because that's
what you're programmed to expect.

Then there was this other take where, as
she said it, a tear ran down her face.

My name is Carol.

And I thought, "Wow,
I have never seen,

"in the superhero's
most powerful moment,

"a tear running down their face.
I have to put that take in."

And I put it in and, you
know, there was resistance.

They're like, "Why
is she crying?"

The answer was, "That's kind of
the theme of the entire film,

"that you can be emotional
and powerful simultaneously."

And that choice that Brie made

enveloped everything
Captain Marvel is.

I feel like Marvel is going
to a whole new chapter.

We have so much coming out

that represents different kinds
of communities and voices,

including the series Ms. Marvel,

which was inspired by
my own life experiences.

I was a brown kid
growing up in Jersey.

It was a predominantly
white community.

The only brown people in
town were related to me.

And it was challenging.

I never saw girls or
anyone who looked like me

in television
shows or magazines.

And, in fact, if I did happen to
see a brown person on television,

they were usually the bad guy.

I am Muslim. I am South Asian.

And I was growing up
in a time where people

truly just did not
understand who Muslims were.

Thought it would be cool to have a
superhero who actually fights for us.

Now we get to show that world
through the lens of Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel is a young
woman named Kamala Khan.

She is from Jersey City.

She is just really
intelligent and very quirky,

and has a very loving family.

Whatever mountain you're facing,
you don't have to do it alone.

I can be special tomorrow. I
just wanna be normal today.

I don't know. I don't see
why this is so hard for me.

AMANAT: It's funny to think that
there was anybody else as an option

for Kamala Khan other
than Iman Vellani.

She turned in a
fantastic audition.

So we can expand our horizons,
meet interesting people,

realize our true potential to
fulfill the American Dream!

AMANAT: She is
Kamala in real life.

And yes, this is
my American Dream.

We'd be honored if you'd play
Kamala Khan in the Ms. Marvel show.

Yeah, I can't comprehend
this right now.

(FEIGE CHUCKLES)

Oh, my God!

(ALL CHUCKLING)

VELLANI: It was the first audition
I ever did in my entire life.

As a kid, I was very confused about
what I wanted to do with my life

until this opportunity
came around.

I have so much love for the
character, which is why I auditioned.

I didn't wanna be an actor,
but because it was Ms. Marvel

and I loved her comics,
I had no choice.

My ten-year-old self would
hate me if I didn't audition.

I loved reading comic books.

I got really into superheroes
when I was, like, ten.

Where I live is right
next to a comic book store

and my parents would give me
$20 of allowance every month.

I'd spend it on comic books.

And one day, I picked
up a Ms. Marvel comic

and I was like, "Brown
girl, who's she?"

And I got excited and I
fell in love with her.

Growing up with little to no
representation, I needed that.

LARSON: In the comics, Ms. Marvel is
like Captain Marvel's biggest fan.

What's cool about it is she
doesn't just emulate her.

She sees the strength
of Captain Marvel

and then finds her own
version of it in herself.

Kamala is a creative, passionate,
Avengers-loving, fanfic-writing nerd.

I feel kind of honored to be the nerd
to represent all the other nerds.

I get to channel a lot of my
real life into her character.

Kamala, she is
Pakistani, she is Muslim,

but none of that
alone defines her.

What's up, Najaf?

And I think that is a lot
of her journey in the show.

Let's be honest. It's not the brown girls
from Jersey City who save the world.

Sure they do.

Kamala embraces everything
that makes her her.

And I think that's so admirable.

You know, she doesn't shy away
from the fact that she is Muslim.

The importance of having Kamala
be the first Muslim superhero,

it's enormous.

That's the DNA of Marvel,

of making sure that the
stories are representative,

because Marvel tries to
capture the real world,

just in the most
fantastic way possible.

Sometimes, a movie is a
movie, and escape is fun,

and you enjoy it and never
think about it again.

But Captain Marvel
was not just a movie.

It changed how people
felt about themselves.

I can remember growing
up and not really having

many female superheroes
to look up to.

I can't even recall, if
you ask me, if there's one.

But now, you know, I can
say with Captain Marvel,

it's allowing little
girls to look up to this

strong woman and say that,
"I actually can be her."

My name is Alyssa Carson.

I'm an aspiring astronaut and my
favorite character is Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel is my
favorite character

because she sends such
a good message of women

being just as strong as
the male superheroes.

Captain Marvel
shows determination.

(GRUNTS)

And so, I think that
that determination

definitely resonates with me
to keep going after my dreams.

When I was a little girl, I
pretty much have loved space

ever since I could remember.

I was always obsessed with
it and wanting to learn more.

No one in my family has any
space or science background.

So it was very bizarre
for me to one day come up

and start asking all
kinds of space questions,

but I took it and ran with it.

Then, as I got older, the more I
learned, the more my obsession grew.

I've seen Captain
Marvel many times,

and, you know, I think that the
more times that I watched it,

I was definitely encouraged
to keep doing what I'm doing.

I'm currently
studying astrobiology.

And I'm looking forward to
being able to contribute

to the science
happening on Mars.

Something that I share with
Captain Marvel is curiosity.

She definitely has
a very curious mind,

but, at the end of the day,

she really just wants to contribute
to something greater than herself.

And so, I think that connects,

'cause when we look at
the mission to Mars,

it's not about just
getting to Mars.

It's about all the benefits
that getting to Mars brings.

New technologies, new resources

that can actually help with the
problems we have now on Earth.

I think that we need
female superheroes

because it is so important
to see other strong women.

Captain Marvel is encouraging
the next group of women

to go after their dreams and
hopefully be just as empowered.

(CROWD CHEERING)

HAYS: The huge value of the
movies is that they show people

the world the way it should be,

where the good and
strong and smart win.

Giving an incredible
role model to everybody,

to kids, to young
women, to older women.

I think it has a huge
impact on culture

and changing the
way people think.

We're being
represented by someone

who plays and portrays us

as someone amazing, you know,

and we don't get that often, so
it's nice to see it on the screen.

After the movie came out,

the enrollment of women in
the Air Force went up 50%.

We were completely taken aback

by the cultural wave
that it created.

(CROWD CHEERING)

And I just love
that it's girl power

and my girls can
be what they want,

and she's the epitome of that.

Every girl has strong powers.

She's just an incredible
role model for girls.

GIRL: It's just really like amazing
to see such a strong, female lead.

Someone to look up to.

Young girls across the nation will
see her and think, "That could be me."

(CROWD CHEERING)

I'm Brie Larson and
I'm Captain Marvel.

I'm very aware of the fact that
I'm just a conduit for a concept.

It always, for me, was the star.

I just wanted to imbue that
symbol. That was my goal.

If I could imbue that star

and that symbol
to mean something,

to help you out of
a tough situation,

to give you strength
when you really need it.

That we're free.

We're completely
free to be as we are.

I see people with, like, a Captain
Marvel leather jacket or a keychain

or a pin with that star.

If that can be a reminder
of inner strength and power,

it's a powerful concept.