While everyone working on Captain Marvel agrees that it is exciting to have a Marvel film with a female lead, they want to make sure that it is not the sole focus of the film. The hope is that the film gives a sense of empowerment to young people and females all over.
Brie Larson, the actor playing Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, wasn’t sure how the movie would be perceived. “We don’t know what’s gonna happen … I just like the process. My favorite part is the making. And then the rest of it isn’t really up to me,” Larson said.
While the movie is being seen as groundbreaking, Lashana Lynch, who plays Carol’s earth friend Maria Rambeau, wants the movie to be seen as more than just “the first female Avenger” film. “That enables young people to know they can use their own strength to get what they want, and that being a female is a power, not a restriction,” Lynch said.
Aside from having a female lead, the movie was also co-directed by a woman, Anne Boden. She described her excitement for this story by saying, “It’s a character and a story we’ve been excited about for a long time and I’m very happy that now is the time in the current present cultural moment that Captain Marvel finally gets to have her story told.”
Although the film’s setting takes place in 1995, the movie itself will be rooted in the idea that females are just as strong — if not stronger — than males. The hope is that it will foster an environment where not only female superheroes are strong, but also everyday females can feel strong and powerful as well.
Lynch says, “It’s nice to see how women can really burst through being in that environment and still hold their own, and not having a man telling them what to do, where to stand, how to look.”
In order to prepare for their roles, both Larson and Lynch had the opportunity to meet real-life female fighter pilots at an Air Force base. “You just feel the power being with them, and they’re hyper-intelligent and just badasses,” Larson said.
These women, along with the ones working with her, gave Larson the confidence to play Captain Marvel. “I find the character so inspiring, so whenever I feel sort of nervous and scared, I feel like I can turn to her and I feel like, ‘No, I got this,’” she said.
The hope is that, much like Larson, other young females will be able to turn to this character and future female-led movies and feel the same empowerment as well. Female empowerment is strong, and it can only get stronger when young girls see like-minded role models.
