'Captain Marvel': Why the Movie Ends With Nick Fury and Not Carol Danvers

Captain Marvel introduces Carol Danvers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Carol returns to Earth after years of service in space as a member of the Kree Empire's Starforce. But the film doesn't end with her rebuilding her life on Earth. Instead, she heads back into space to try to end the Kree-Skrull war and find a new homeworld for the Skrull people. The movie ends with a shot of Nick Fury, the SHIELD agent that helped Carol when she got to Earth. He's putting together the proposal for the Protector Initiative. Upon finding Carol's Air Force call sign, he renames the project the Avengers initiative in her honor.

Speaking to The Empire Film Podcast, Captain Marvel co-director Anna Boden explained why they chose to end the film that way. "I think that our intention was to give you this sense of where she's going to help end the war and find the Skrulls a home without actually seeing her land on a planet somewhere and set up a civilization," she says. "I feel like we can use our imaginations as to that big mission, how that might exactly play out. So that is where we wanted to leave Captain Marvel and it just felt like the weight of her inspiring the Avengers and her inspiring this entire world that we've come to know and love as Marvel enthusiasts over the years felt like the right way to tell the story. So in a way, we feel like we are leaving it with Carol, but it's about the future that she 's inspired at the end of the movie."

Fury's Avengers Initiative would lead to the Avengers assembling for the first time to stop Loki and the Chitauri invasion in The Avengers. Carol will join the team that was named for her in Avengers: Endgame as they attempt to undo what Thanos accomplished in Avengers: Infinity War.

Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Rune Temte, Algenis Perez Soto, Mckenna Grace, with Annette Bening, with Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.

The film is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, from a screenplay written by Boden & Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Jac Schaeffer, based on a story by Nicole Perlman and Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse. Kevin Feige produces, with Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Patricia Whitcher and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.

What did you think of the ending of Captain Marvel? Let us know in the comments.

Captain Marvel is now playing in theaters. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th