Why Captain Marvel Was Cut Out of 'Avengers: Infinity War'

After months of rumors and confirmations then debunking those confirmations, fans got to see Avengers: Infinity War and learn the awful truth: Captain Marvel does not appear in the movie.

But the film's sole post-credits tag does make a major reference to the character, with her logo showing up on a modified cellular pager — a nod to her '90s-set solo film that will surely explain where Nick Fury obtained such exotic tech.

Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke about their decision to leave Captain Marvel out of the film while speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, answering if her appearance was ever in the cards.

"No, we want to save her reveal," said Joe.

"We also wanted to, it was very important to us to commit... we wanted to commit to this ending very hard," added Anthony. "We didn't want to go past the ending very much."

"And we considered not doing any tags. For that reason," Joe said. "Then we thought maybe it was too brutal. Everything's about trying to find balance."

Instead of debuting in Avengers: Infinity War, Brie Larson will make her first appearance as Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, which premieres in theaters in March 2019. Given how that film will set the stage for the character, and Infinity War ended with a major tease of her appearance, it seems evident that she'll play a major role in Avengers 4.

But the Russo Brothers aren't saying as much at this point.

"I mean, all of these characters are. It's hard to talk about the next one," Joe said. "We're going to try to protect the secrets of that one the same way that we did on this one."

"She will be a part of the MCU at that point," Anthony said. "And part of the promise of these movies is that they are a road forward for all the films."

The Russos previously told ComicBook.com about the challenges in bringing such a character to the big screen, given that she'll be the most versatile and powerful hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.

"Well for us, with super powerful characters, it's always about the flaw in the character, how is the character human? How is the character accessible?" Joe said. "I have a hard time with comic book characters, I did as a child, that were too powerful because I never feared for them, I never felt like I could relate to them. I think that's why traditionally Batman is the most popular DC comic character, he's human. So, it's important for us when we're working with uber-powerful characters, to understand their vulnerability on a psychological level."

Captain Marvel premieres March 8th.

Are you excited for Carol Danvers' epic debut? Be sure to let us know in the comments!