Avengers: Endgame Writers Reveal the Challenge of Including Captain Marvel

After more than ten years in the making, serving as the culmination of over 20 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the filmmakers behind Avengers: Endgame had to do a lot of heavy lifting. And one of their biggest challenges was introducing Captain Marvel to the wider audience after her solo film debut.

But the writers of Avengers: Endgame admitted that the challenge was increased because their film was written before Captain Marvel. Through their collaboration with Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, they were able to avoid any major conflicts.

“Well, we were lucky enough that they already wanted to make a period movie, so that it didn’t have to conflict with the events of Infinity War,” said co-writer Steven McFeely. “She didn’t have to be ignoring the snap, or anything like that. So, but we wound up writing and filming our Captain Marvel scenes before they wrote and shot Marvel the movie. So we coordinated with [the filmmakers] and with Brie Larson … And it’s also a weird thing in that our scenes take place 20 years after their movie ends, and there’s any number of experiences that could have slightly altered her approach and appearance.”

McFeely and co-writer Christopher Markus spoke with Boden and Fleck about their approach to the character, revealing that the Captain Marvel directors helped out in filming her first appearance.

“But they were on set the first time she came out in the outfit, and it was all very sort of hand-in-hand,” said McFeely.

But with this workflow came a unique problem, as some fans complained about the lack of screen time from Larson in her first big MCU team up movie. But McFeely explained to the New York Times that they wanted the film to focus on the core team of heroes.

“We shot [Brie Larson] before she shot her movie. She’s saying lines for a character 20 years after her origin story, which no one’s written yet. It’s just nuts. Certainly, Captain Marvel is in [Endgame] a little less than you would have thought. But that’s not the story we’re trying to tell — it’s the original Avengers dealing with loss and coming to a conclusion, and she’s the new, fresh blood.”

Avengers: Endgame is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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