‘Captain Marvel’ Filmmakers Talk De-Aging Technology

When Captain Marvel comes to theaters this spring, it will be just the latest in a line of examples of Marvel Studios using digital image manipulation to artifically de-age their actors.

This time around, it will be Samuel L. Jackson — an actor who, by the early ’90s when Captain Marvel takes place, was already a well-known face to moviegoers around the world. That made the decision to go with de-aging tech, rather than trying to pass him off as younger or hiring another actor for the ’90s material, a no-brainer.

We’ll be de-aging Sam a little bit, we’ll be de-aging Clark a little bit,” said executive producer Jonathan Schwartz during a visit to the film’s set. “Thankfully, both Clark and Sam look amazing, which is a big help for us, but there will be a little bit of that. It’s certainly more shots than we’ve had to do in other movies. We’ve de-aged Robert [Downey Jr.], who looks amazing, and Kurt [Russell], who also looks amazing, we’ve been very lucky with the actors who’ve gone through this process. But this will be significantly more in a movie than we’ve ever done before, which is a fun challenge to have, but I don’t think we could ever ask someone to step into Sam Jackson’s shoes, so I’m glad we’re doing it.”

Now that we’ve seen the first two trailers, we’re starting to get a sense of just how epic this story will be, as well as how impressive Captain Marvel‘s abilities are when compared against the rest of the MCU. That’s something Marvel Studios Cheif Kevin Feige stressed in a recent interview, and it’s a big reason why she could turn the tide against Thanos in Avengers 4.

“She is more powerful than any character we’ve introduced thus far,” said Feige. “So that alone tells you that there’s a reason Nick hit that button at the end [of Infinity War], when he realized that they were up against something far bigger than they had ever been up against before. And having her on your side is hopefully going to change the balance of power in a way that they desperately need.”

Captain Marvel follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain Marvel stars Academy Award® winner Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou (Korath), Lee Pace (Ronan), Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan (Minn-Erva), Algenis Perez Soto, Rune Temte, McKenna Grace, Kenneth Mitchell (Joseph Danvers), with Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), and Jude Law.

Captain Marvel launches on March 8, 2019, while Avengers 4 hits on May 3, 2019, followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.