Captain Marvel had lift off as actress Brie Larson stepped out in London for the UK premiere of Captain Marvel on Wednesday night.
The actress, who plays air force pilot turned superhero Carol Danvers, was joined by co-stars Samuel L Jackson and Jude Law on the red carpet.
Jackson reprises his role of Nick Fury for the film, which is set in the 1990s, while Law’s role, although under wraps, is widely mooted to be alien Yon-Rogg, Danvers’ embittered superior.
Hot on the heels of DC Comics’ £617million box office success with Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel is the first film from the studio which centres around a female superhero and is co-directed by a woman.
It also comes after Black Panther became the first comic book and superhero film to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
But Captain Marvel looks set to live up to its hype, boasting the highest first-day sales of any Marvel film, save Avengers Infinity War and Black Panther, ahead of its worldwide release date on March 8.
The film will be the first formal introduction of Captain Marvel, one of the universe’s most powerful heroes, whose existence was first alluded to in a post-credit teaser at the end of ensemble blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War.
She is also expected to play a key role in upcoming Avengers saga Endgame.
Captain Marvel will tell the origin story of Danvers, who becomes superhuman when her DNA becomes fused with that of an alien in a freak accident.
Danvers’ character is heavily influenced by a 2012 comic book reboot of Captain Marvel, spearheaded by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick.
The character, who has appeared in the comics under a number of different mantles, originally took the form of Ms Marvel – with her outfit consisting of a swimsuit, thigh-high boots and a sash.
Her contemporary reimagining in the film is courtesy of comic book artist Jamie McKelvie, who DeConnick enlisted to redesign Danver’s costume.
McKelvie came up with the striking red, blue and gold flight suit, complete with a collapsible mohawk helmet.
DeConnick, who served as an adviser on the film, told Entertainment Weekly how Danvers was something of an underdog.
She said: “For a book to last, you needed either an A-list character, an A-list writer or an A-list artist. Carol was not A-list, and I was certainly not A-list.”
But the series reboot attracted a cult following of comic book fans, who nicknamed themselves Carol Corps.
Eight months later, Marvel executives had a script for a Carol Danvers film on their desks.
While the film’s plot is being kept firmly under wraps, Larson has told how friendship is at the heart of the film – with the story focusing heavily on Danvers’ relationship with air force pal Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch.
Larson said: “What they’ve gone through together – going through military training, being the only women there, and then using each other to lean on each other for that support and a recognition of their experience is really special.
“Without being too showboating about it, this is the love of the movie. This is the great love. This is the love lost, this is the love found again, this is the reason to continue fighting and to go to the ends of the Earth for the person that you love. And it’s her best friend and her best friend’s daughter which, to me, is so natural.”
Conscious of the film attracting a younger female audience, Larson has reluctantly embraced her status as a role model.
She said: “You don’t get to decide if you’re an inspiration to people or not.
“All of my heroes were just unapologetically themselves … So for me, it’s part of who [Captain Marvel] is too.”
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