Marvel Studios Pays Tribute To Late ‘Captain Marvel’ Consultant Maj. Stephen Del Bagno

Today, the team at Marvel Studios is remembering a fallen member of their family. The company has [...]

By Megan Peters

Today, the team at Marvel Studios is remembering a fallen member of their family. The company has just shared a statement regarding the death of Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, an Air Force pilot and consultant on Captain Marvel.

"We lost a friend yesterday. Marvel Studios is saddened to hear of the loss of Air Force Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, who we were lucky to get to know during his time as a consultant on Captain Marvel," the studio wrote on Twitter.

"We will miss him greatly; he'll always be part of the team."

Not long ago, the news of Bagno's death was released after a training accident ended in tragedy. The Thunderbirds pilot was killed while performing a set of training maneuvers at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. This was the first season Bagno spent with the team, and the cause of his crash is being investigated by the Accident Investigation Board of the Air Force.

"We are mourning the loss of Maj. Del Bagno," Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing commander, said in a recently statement. "He was an integral part of our team, and our hearts are heavy with his loss." (via LA Times)

The Thunderbirds are a popular division within the Air Force as the high-performance team is known for its stunning aerial tricks. The Air Force confirmed the team's impending show at the March Air Reserve Base has been cancelled in light of Bagno's death, and there is no word on the team's future schedule.

As for Bagno, the pilot was a veteran pilot who graduated Utah State University in 2005. He got his degree in aviation science and served as an F-35A evaluator before joining the Thunderbirds. His biography says he logged more than 3,500 flight hours in over 30 different air crafts. As an instructor and pilot, Bagno was a well-loved member of the Air Force, and he was tasked by Marvel Studios to consult on Captain Marvel as its lead, Carol Danvers, is a high-flying pilot herself.

Captain Marvel is being directed by Ann Bolen and Ryan Fleck from a script by Nicole Perlman & Megan LeFauve. Set the '90s, the film is inspired by the classic Avengers story "The Kree-Skrull War" and will introduce the shape-shifting alien Skrull race to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain Marvel opens in theaters on March 8, 2019.

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