I have been skeptical of Brie Larson from the moment she was announced as Captain Marvel. Not anything against her, personally, just that she’s too young, and wasn’t the most interesting name in the mix. Well, guess what? I TAKE IT ALL BACK. I am sold on Brie Larson as Carol Danvers. You know what did it? That smile she gets when she is clearly f-cking with Nick Fury over the “noble warrior heroes”. Between that and the expert fist-clenching in the teaser, I am convinced that Brie Larson gets it. She’s tapped in. She understands what fans have loved about this character even through garbage storylines and heinous plots. Carol Danvers has survived an inconsistent, dicey history in the comics, and it’s because she’s That Bitch. Brie Larson is embodying Carol as That Bitch.
This trailer gives a quick rundown of the Skrulls (bad), the Kree (good…ish), and Carol—someone with no memory and a past on Earth and crazy space powers. That part where she soars through space, f-cking up everyone’s day? That’s the only thing I want to look at from now until March. So into how Carol’s powers—inconsistent in the comics—look in the movie. She looks like a comet. Couldn’t love it more. And there is Chewie the cat-alien! Or, rather, Goose, renamed, I assume as a Top Gun reference. Lainey texted like, What’s with the cat? That cat is probably going to be one of our favorite things about Captain Marvel, just watch. Also one of my favorite things is the “Her/A Hero” tagline. Not my favorite thing? This trailer music, a definite, generic downgrade from the teaser.
But it’s not just playing the character on film that counts. Larson’s Marvel co-stars have set a rather high bar for off-set standard-bearing, from RDJ basically morphing into Tony Stark, to Chris Evans becoming Captain America all over social media. Larson seems to be of the Evans mold, taking her new platform seriously. She has been one of the faces of Time’s Up, and she is using her time as Captain America to promote greater diversity in her industry beyond just the set. She says, “On the Captain Marvel press tour, I'll be pushing for representation across the board: my interviews, magazine covers, the clothes that I'm wearing. It means spending more time thinking about things than you sometimes want to, but it's worth it.”
So, she’s putting her money where her mouth is, and using her spotlight to shine on others. Every outfit she wears on the Captain Marvel press tour will get written up. Every interview will be picked up by dozens, if not hundreds, of outlets. These are names that will get checked. She’ll be using her work to highlight the work of others, who too often don’t get included in those spaces. It’s not a statement, it’s a practicum, a methodology that others can adopt. She’s leading by example, which is really all you ask of a superhero.
Attached - Brie Larson out in LA the other day.
