'Captain Marvel' Script Almost Opened With Carol Danvers on Earth

When Captain Marvel lifted off this past weekend, the first chunk of the movie took place in space on alien planets, as seen in the trailers and marketing leading up to the film. According to co-director Ryan Fleck, the movie nearly had a much different beginning that would have seen Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) start the film off on Earth.

Spoilers for Captain Marvel up ahead. Proceed with caution if you have yet to see the film.

Between training on Hala with Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and covert Starforce options across the cosmos, Captain Marvel followed space adventures for a good chunk of the first act. Between the dreams she had as the movie opened to the flashbacks she had when being experimented on by the Skrulls, moviegoers only saw Earth in brief glimpses.

Fleck says that at first, the movie almost started with Danvers' time as a part of the United States Air Force.

"The original opening to the script was a simulated combat situation in her fighter jets," Fleck told Empire. "There was a whole Top Gun-style sequence that we were even planning to shoot for a while. Even though it was an awesome introduction to Carol and Maria Rambeau – and I think it would have been fun for the audience to meet them on Earth as humans – the problem with that is the audience would be so far ahead of the story."

"But you would have already known, and viscerally felt, her as a human," the director continued. "When she is uncovering her past and feeling a bit freaked out by it, I think it's much more effective."

Even then, the cut that made theaters was essentially Top Gun 2, so it'd appear they accomplished what they set out to do even by changing the initial opening to the film.

Captain Marvel is now in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Studios films include Avengers: Endgame on April 26th and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.

What'd you think of Captain Marvel? How many times did you go opening weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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