Kevin Feige Explains Why ‘Captain Marvel’ Was Never A Love Story

On the big screen, many female characters are centered around love stories in super hero films and in other dramatic outings. However, Captain Marvel puts Brie Larson‘s heroine front and center tastefully with her own motivations at the forefront — none of which involve a love interest.

Not the movie nor its lead actress are being subtle about how empowering Captain Marvel is aiming to be for women. After all, this is the first time a female character has been given a self-titled, standalone film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Evangeline Lilly came close in 2018 when her The Wasp heroine shared Ant-Man and The Wasp‘s title). Recent blockbuster films with female leads such as Alita: Battle Angel and Wonder Woman both featured love interests for the titular heroines (and it sometimes happens to the male heroes, too — see: Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, The Incredible Hulk). According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Captain Marvel was never going to tie the character into any romantic endeavors but would always focus on the character’s independent nature.

“It was always the story,” Feige told ComicBook.com. “I don’t remember ever having a conversation saying, ‘There will not be a love interest.’ There was only a conversation, ‘We’re telling Carol Danvers’ origin story.’ And this was her origin story, and her origin story was focused on her growth and the female friends and mentors and inspirations around her.”

Among those friends is Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau and several other strong supporting characters who help craft Captain Marvel into a successful and inspirational film.

It should come as no surprise that Captain Marvel focused on the character finding herself while also saving others given the comic book source material. “Well, for sure a lot of Kelly Sue DeConnick,” served as inspiration for the movie says Feige, “and years of developing the movie, and years of thinking about it, and then bringing on new voices and when [directors] Anna [Boden] and Ryan [Fleck] came on, really bring it into focus. There was a lot of discussions about Helen Cobb and bring her in somehow. And, she was in some drafts.”

“Ultimately, the story is about Carol Danvers, so everything had to focus and funnel through her,” Feige concludes.

Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 6. She will later join the grander Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Endgame on April 26, which is followed by a standalone Marvel Studios effort with Spider-Man: Far From Home.