Finding A Female Director For Captain Marvel Is A Priority

In 2018, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be making way for Captain Marvel. The female hero will be introduced to fans by Brie Larson, and fans are eager to see the acclaimed actress take on the role. In recent years, the comic book iteration of Captain Marvel has become increasingly connected with female empowerment, and Marvel Studios wants to honor that reputation with the film. Now, Kevin Feige is commenting on how the project plans to do so, and one way will be with a female director.

In a recent interview with Variety, the president of Marvel Studios confirmed finding a female director for Captain Marvel was an upmost priority.
"It is," he told the site. "Having a female director at the helm to tell the story of a woman who is also our most powerful hero by far is very important to us."

So far, there is no director officially attached to the project, but the Internet has been buzzing over shortlisted filmmakers. Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Marvel Studios had narrowed down their possible hires to a select few candidates. Niki Caro, Lorene Scafaria, Rebecca Thomas, and Leslie Linka Glatter were all included on the list.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting confirmation about the studio's hire, but no news has been released. Feige has talked about the delay, and he told Vulture the studio wanted to make sure it chose a director wisely. He said his team has "been meeting [with] amazing filmmakers" and "expect to have a director by the end of the year."

"With Captain Marvel, there's so much potential in the comics and there have been so many incarnations of her powers and the characters who've had that mantle that we've been focusing in on exactly how do we tell her origin," Feige said. "How does it fit into the cosmic side of our universe? How does it fit into what we're doing with the next Avengers movies? So really, that's what's been delaying that particular announcement."

Whoever does tackle Captain Marvel, they will be dealing with the hero's origin story. Feige said the movie was certainly a telling of her superhero start, and screenwriters Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve echoed those words. However, the duo did say they would have to alter some parts of Carol Danver's story because of the Green Lantern of all things.

"Here's the thing, if you were just going to do a straight adaptation of the comics, her origin story is very similar to Green Lantern. And obviously, that's not what we want to do," Perlman said, nodding to Carol's canonical origin. "There's a lot of reinvention that needs to happen. And also, she's her own person and she's a great character. We have to be aware of what's happened in other Marvel film and makes sure that her particular storyline is unique and fun and also fits in within this world that's going on at the same time. It's a little bit of an interesting story gauntlet."

Captain Marvel will hit theaters on March 8, 2019.

[H/T] Variety